The Caretakers: Controls
by LGTracy
Summary: Bayverse-Inspired by Fealion's story "Incarnation of Cybertron." OC Story. S7 employed the brightest minds available. Their entire focus was to understand, harness, and-if possible-replicate the strange, otherworldly artifacts under the Sector's control. But not all of the scientists were devoid of emotion. Dr Ralene Clark was one of those who cared about the cube's creations.
1. Prologue

**A/N:**_ Hey all! I'm back with a whole new story for you. This one was inspired by Fealion's story, "Incarnation of Cybertron." I did send her a message requesting permission to use the concept, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. Of course, it's been over a year since she last updated her work, so I was kind of going through my own sort of sparkling fluff withdrawals (really, REALLY hope she's alright!). If she should get back to me and refuse my request, then I will obligingly take this story down. This story is being started at this time as a holiday-of-choice present for you all._

_**Disclaimer: **Transformers is the property of Hasbro and whomever they have granted rights to. The concept of sparklings being created by the Allspark that were then controlled by Sector 7 was inspired by Fealion's work "Incarnation of Cybertron." I own nothing but the oc's and the plot. No infringement was implied nor intended. No financial gratuity was received._

The Caretakers: Establishing Controls

PROLOGUE:

Anyone who didn't know her personally would see a shortish, youngish, calm woman in a white lab coat walking confidently down the hall. However, that was only those who didn't know her. Everyone who did, though, would notice three distinct signs that calm was the last thing she was; her arms were held tightly against her body instead of freely swinging by her sides, left hand in her coat pocket while the right tightly gripped a standard project folder so hard her knuckles were white. Secondly, her normally smiling mouth was held in a straight line. Finally, her blue-gray eyes were focused and glittering dangerously with barely suppressed rage.

Yep, those in the know quickly scrambled out of her way with one thought; Doc Ray was PISSED!

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

Dr. Ralene Clark forcefully exhaled through her nose as she opened the office door without knocking. She barely glanced at the startled receptionist as she continued on to the door behind him.

"D – Doctor Clark!" he exclaimed in alarm as she grabbed the door handle. "You can't go in there!"

"Watch me," she said determinedly as she pushed open the door.

"I'm sorry Mr. Banacheck," the man hastily apologized from behind her. "She just stormed through."

Tom Banacheck swiveled in his chair to look at the intruders into his office. One look at the normally happy scientist's stern countenance had him putting his bagel down hastily and swallowing the bite in his mouth with difficulty.

Clearing his throat, he nodded at his secretary/bodyguard, "It's alright Jimmy. I'll see Dr. Clark," he dismissed the man.

Angry strides brought her to stand in front of his desk without an invitation as she wordlessly dropped the folder in front of him. As soon as she heard the click of the door shutting, she began to speak.

"They're ALIVE!" she hissed angrily.

"Who's alive?" he asked in genuine curiosity as he rescued his open jelly packet from falling into his lap.

"The NBT's! They are alive and afraid."

"Ray, they're machines. They can't 'live' and they can't 'feel'," he informed her gently.

"How the Hell do you know they can't feel? Have you ever been around one that was still functional?

"As far as their being machines, well, so are we. The only difference is we're organic machines and they are metallic. The basic mechanics are the same."

"Be that as it may, there has been no scientific proof of their status of being alive. Not to mention they've shown no signs of self-awareness."

She looked at him, incredulous, allowing her barely suppressed rage to simmer. "I am the only xenobiologist you have on staff," she said lowly, slightly mollified when he began to squirm. "I am _the_ resident expert on what does and does _not_ constitute life. It is my scientific opinion that the NBT's have demonstrated enough behaviors to be considered living beings.

"I also recognize that they have not exhibited enough behaviors to be considered truly sentient, but that is due to the fact they are usually destroyed or subdued soon after animation. Therefore, they need to be studied further in a non-threatening environment."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I want my own project with them, preferably in another facility, to observe and attempt to interact with them. We need to determine what they are capable of when supported, if they can be taught or trained.

"Tom," she continued as she covered his hand with her own, "we need to determine if we were right about them being nothing more than AI's, or if we have been engaging in an unspeakable act of genocide against another intelligent species."

Huffing out a frustrated breath, he removed his hand from her possession and finally opened the folder. He didn't even bother to read it; he already knew that every argument was thoroughly thought out and defended rationally, despite her obviously passionate opinion.

"You know," he sighed as he flipped through to each copy's signature pages, "the higher ups are not going to want to hear that." He signed them all with a flourish as he informed her of the door she was about to open.

"Yes, I know, which is why I used the argument to keep them as controls."

He chuckled as he handed her back her signed copy so she could begin her part of the project. Her enthusiasm was always contagious, he thought as she literally skipped out of his office. He just really hoped she didn't find what she was looking for. If she did, he feared the higher ups would do whatever they could to keep her quiet.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Jimmy asked as he quickly poked his head back in his office.

"Yes, it's fine Jimmy.

"I'm going to need you to distribute these new project orders to the necessary department heads. Dr. Clark already has hers as do I. Please see to it they're delivered before the end of the day."

"Sure, sir," the young man answered as he crossed the office to the desk. Accepting the files, he opened the top one to find the distribution list and stopped dead in his tracks.

Quickly, he leafed through each page, immediately reading and memorizing the entire report before he turned back to his supervisor, visibly paling.

"She . . . she thinks the NBT's are _alive_?"

"Yes. Ludicrous, I know, but she does bring up the valid point that we need to keep some of them as controls," the career, bureaucratic scientist affirmed as he considered his assistant. Jimmy's photographic memory still amazed him.

"You are aware that Agent Simmons is not going to be happy about this when he sees this report."

"I'm aware of that. It's also a very good thing that he isn't slated to return from his rounds for another three weeks and will immediately go on his two month long vacation after that."

"Yes sir, but he is scheduled to catch up with his paperwork for three days after his rounds and before his vacation."

"I doubt there's much he can do to derail or delay her project in those three days."

"I hope so sir.

"By the way, what does he have against her?"

"Hmm," Banacheck said thoughtfully as he chewed on his bagel. "Simmons is the type that doesn't care about what he doesn't know as long as he thinks he's untouchable by it. Ray believes in understanding what she doesn't know. That and the fact she received four PHD's by the time she was seventeen doesn't sit well with him either."

"I see sir. I'll go officially 'receive' these then and distribute them appropriately," the younger man answered as he left the office.

Thoughts whirling in his brain, he sat at his desk and fished out his stamp and ink pad before he stamped each front page with a big red "Received." Glancing at his calendar to remind himself of the date, he wrote in the date of August 19, 1985 and initialed below it.


	2. Chapter 1: Simmon's Strikes!

**A/N:**_ This is the second chapter posted today. There is more written, but this just seemed like the most logical place to stop this chapter. Blessed holiday-of-choice!_

CHAPTER 1: SIMMONS STRIKES!

Everything was going along perfectly, Dr. Ralene Clark thought to herself with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She just knew there was going to be _some_thing that was going to go wrong. Simmons wouldn't let anything be easy for her. As she rounded the last bend before the embarkation chamber, the distinct lack of vehicles standing ready confirmed her dread.

"What did he do now?" she asked in exasperation of James "Jimmy" Hudson.

"He had all of the special NBT transport trucks sent to the motor pool to be rebuilt, washed and, or detailed.

"Detailed?! There hasn't been a single dime spent on detailing any vehicle in the fleet in the last _five years_ I've been here."

"I know. I was able to get about half of them ready, the others are still in pieces."

Ray shot an angry glance up at the monitoring window that she knew Simmons would be watching from. His self-satisfied smirk told her all she needed to know.

Turning back around to discuss the situation with Jimmy, she called over the convoy commander and the logistics coordinator. "So, how many can we bring with us given the current transports?"

"Even when I get creative," the logistics coordinator started as she glanced at her clipboard, "you'd still have to leave fourteen behind. Unless you want to leave NBT – twelve-tango behind."

"Oh _Hell_ no! Especially not considering the one animated at the same time is now on her way to who-knows-where to have who-knows-what done to her.

"Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if it was his plan the entire time.

"What if we transport them with the personnel?"

"What?!" the convoy commander demanded in a shocked tone. "Doesn't' that violate Sector Seven protocol?"

"Eric," the scientist addressed him with narrowed eyes, "When Simmons stuck his big nose in here and sabotaged _my_ project, he went against ess seven protocols.

"We will leave them in their crates and lash them down in the center of the aisles. You will have at least four armed men surrounding each crate at all times if anything happens."

"You promise that nothing will happen?" Captain Eric McCutchen asked resignedly.

"Nope. I promise the likelihood of anything happening is very low," she reassured him.

Sighing, he turned back to his troops and informed them of the change in plan. Despite the few moments of shock, they all quickly shook it off and moved to begin loading the crates that would fit into the back of their transports.

"Alright, that will take care of another eight. We're still six short," the logistics coordinator advised.

"I can grab the minibus. Should be able to take care of the three remaining largest that way," Jimmy volunteered. He turned around and walked off toward the vehicle once the scientist nodded.

"Alright then, I'll have the last three sent back to storage," the other woman offered.

"No."

"What?

"How do you plan to move them?"

"I'll take them with me."

"There are no other vehicles available that will hold the remaining three crates."

A look up to the window witnessed the steady falling of Simmons' smile. Her triumphant smile quickly changed it to a look of utter dread.

"It's time to put my money where my mouth is," she said as she addressed the other woman. "They won't be in crates." With that, she walked over to the first of the remaining crates and quickly unlocked the armored door. It swung opened noisily.

Ray ignored the sound of weapons being cocked and pointed at the crate as she knelt in front of the door. Gently, she began to coo at the small figure within. Instinctively, she held both hands out to it, palms up, and made a gentle "hushing" sound. Soon, twin points of red cautiously crept forward and a metallic hand hesitantly reached out for the offered hands. As soon as it made contact, it quickly jumped back and made a strange chitterring-whir sound. Again, the soothing sounds she was making lured it out of its' dark space and it reached out again, this time shyly taking the offered hands.

"That's right, little one," she said in soothing tones. "It's alright. I won't hurt you. I won't let anyone else hurt you either."

Emboldened by the gentle voice, the little robotic being cautiously walked out of its' crate completely and into the waiting arms. The murmurs of the other voices surrounding them made the small being make a distressed beep, whistle, chirr sound and bury its' face in the chest of the person holding it.

"I know, baby. It's scary out here. I know. But it'll be alright. No one will hurt you. I promise, I won't let them."

Instinctively, the compassionate scientist held the small being tightly to her and soothingly stroked the back of his head. Suddenly, the little creature began to purr and push his head into the gentle hand.

"You like that?" Ray asked with a gentle laugh. Her question was rewarded with a quizzical tilt of his head and a sudden, pained chirp as he ducked back into her chest. A quiet hiss-click sound with a minor tug to the material of her t-shirt had her quickly pulling back in surprise and concern.

Hesitantly, he looked back up at her with a new mirrored device over his eyes. Curiously, he looked around him at the other beings standing around. He noted the hollow looking things being pointed at him and nervously edged closer to the scientist.

"What happened to its face?" Eric asked in alarm.

"They almost look like sun glasses," Ray mentioned thoughtfully. "I wonder if he's photosensitive and they are an in-built protection mechanism," she speculated.

"In-built?" Jimmy asked as he came up near the armed circle.

She nodded. "Yeah. When he looked up at me, he gave a pained little sound and hid his face back into my shirt. I felt a tug against the material and heard a 'click' before he looked back up with his eyes covered."

"I'll write that down for you," Jimmy volunteered as he pulled a small memo notebook out of his pocket. "Which one is it?"

"NBT – one-one-ess-one-nine-eight-five-one-one-zero-five-delta-six-zero-eight-three-three."

"Got it," he said as he quickly turned to another page in his notebook.

"Hey, let's go get the others out," Ray told the little creature clasping tightly to her hand.

He cocked his head in curiosity as he hesitantly followed along behind her. Efficiently, she opened the next crate in line. The next small being, one with wings was a little bolder about coming out when she saw the other being standing beside her. Finally, with minimal prompting, the last crate was opened and the final member of the strange quartet was lured out and promptly latched tightly onto the human female.

"There! See? I haven't been attacked or even threatened in any way, shape or form," the young scientist needlessly informed the armed guards surrounding them with a triumphant smile.

"Just _what _ the _HELL_ are you doing?" Simmons demanded as he stormed into the room. "Ess seven protocol clearly states that all NBE or NBT subjects are to remain secured at _all times_!

"Get those things _back_ into their cages _NOW_!"

"Actually," Ray informed coolly as she tried to calm the terrified beings behind her, "that particular protocol states the subjects are to remain secured at all times while under sector control.

"Ess seven protocol three-eighty-seven point six-seven - transfer of control of sector property - clearly states that all property, including subjects, are considered under sector control _only_ until the new agent of the receiving entity or department takes physical custody. Further, the embarkation room is considered to be neutral territory for those exchanges to take place in a controlled environment.

"Now, that means that as soon as I, and my agents, laid a finger on these crates, we took physical custody; meaning _they're __not_under_**your**_control_ ANYMORE_!

"And _if_ you have a problem with that, I'm sure that Tom would be more than happy to settle our dispute. Especially seeing as _you_ were the one who signed all of those orders to '_incapacitate_' my transports, forcing me to get creative."

The only sound in the room louder than Simmons' snorts of outrage was the nervous clicking-whirr-whistling sounds the small beings hiding behind her were making.

"If – no, _when_ those . . . _things_ go nuclear on your ass and slit your throat, don't come crying to me," the head of security warned threateningly as he invaded the petite woman's personal space.

"Move back or I _will_ move you back," she warned in return.

The two seemed to engage in a staring match for the longest time. . . until Simmons tried to cover his growing unease with the order for his men to fall back to the hangars.

Ray took a deep breath and gained control over her emotions.

"Okay guys," she directed back to the small beings as she turned to them, "let's get situated so we can blow this Popsicle stand!"

After moving the beings toward her car and some deliberation, Ralene was able to get the three metallic passengers strapped into her personal vehicle with the seat-belts. The little flier proved to be a bit of a challenge, until she got the idea to strap her in with the seat-belt from the door and the middle of the back seat. It seemed the best solution to keep from squishing the poor thing's wings.

Having the flier placed first, realizing she would be the most difficult to situate, she was able to quickly place the remaining two NBTs in the remaining seats; the first one went in the back seat next to the flier and the frightened, third one was placed in the seat beside her. Not wanting to leave them alone, she called the commander, Jimmy, the other drivers and the logistics officer over to briefly go over the travel plans.

"Okay, I have you scheduled to head out on Nevada one seventy-two until you get to US ninety-three. You want to head south through Arizona. From ninety-three, you want to head toward US sixty, east. From sixty, you want to head for eye ten. That should get you all the way to Alamogordo, from there, you have the directions to the facility north of there.

"I also have you scheduled for one, half hour stop half way. It should take you about eleven hours to get there."

"Thank you Amy," Jimmy told her as she handed over the directions to him and left.

"Alright, once we've stopped, we'll have to arrange shifts so there won't be any time any vehicle is left unattended," Eric informed as he handed out the direction cards to his drivers. "Murphy, O'Hare and Aharon have all been to the new facility before, as well as the doc, Hudson and myself. If anyone has any questions about where we're going, just follow one of us.

"Any questions now?"

When no one said anything, Ray spoke up. "We'll be leaving in ten minutes. If anyone needs to visit the bathroom, this is the time to do it."

"I'll watch the little ones while you go," Jimmy volunteered, recognizing the unasked request.

"You're a doll," she smiled at the slightly older male as she rushed off toward the ladies' room.

Using the handicapped stall, she finished and washed her hands in the in-stall sink before she checked herself in the mirror. Taking a few minutes, she took off her shirt and examined the new scar on her left chest. Satisfied that it was healing nicely, she turned around to examine the matching one on her back. It also was healing nicely. Briefly, she allowed her mind to wander back to when she had first gotten them:

~~~~~_START FLASHBACK~~~~~_

She was engrossed in her work, as was typical, taking charcoal rubbings of the giant cube. Despite all of the advances in technology, she still found the amount of detail discovered just by carefully made charcoal rubbing on paper to be the best by far. She was stretching over the railing, just trying to get the rest of one of the more intriguing symbols into her rubbing when she fell.

~~~~~_END_ _FLASHBACK~~~~~_

Ralene quickly shook herself out of her memories and put her shirt back on. An unusual concern rippling through her mind - she needed to get back to her kids.

Quickly returning to her car, she noticed that Jimmy seemed to be getting upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked in genuine concern.

"The little one in the front is wailing and rocking back and forth and the one with the eye coverings has demolished your car door."

"What?!" Quickly, she walked over to the car and opened the door that was apparently destroyed. Looking at it critically, she sighed in relief and shook her head.

"No, it isn't destroyed, just dismantled. It doesn't look like a single thing has been broken either.

"Hey, little one," she turned her attention back to the one in the front seat. "It's okay. I'm back."

Instantly, the one in the front seat calmed and watched her back over his shoulder. When she reached down over the back of his seat and rubbed at his head, he purred in contentment.

"You're going to be a handful, aren't you," she said conversationally to the one in the back seat.

He chirped in disappointment and began to look around him, most likely for something else to do, Ray decided.

"Well, I can't very well let you destroy my car. But I think I might have something you can do," she thought aloud as she fished the keys out of her pocket and moved back toward the trunk.

After scrounging around for less than a minute, she came back carrying a car tray holding an old boom box and a small tool case. Deftly, she set the tray in front of the curious little NBT and then lifted his arms over it so he wouldn't get trapped before she slid the legs between the seats. Pushing the "eject" button, she fished out the cassette that was in the player and started to untangle the mess the tape had made.

"See, it's broken. It eats the tapes. These are what they are supposed to look like," she told him as she pulled the extra one off the back.

Fascinated, the little being carefully examined the intact tape, then looked at the ruined one. Gently, he began to re-spool the tape into the cassette, being careful not to flip the magnetic strip over.

Satisfied that the project would keep him occupied for a while, Ray firmly popped the door panel back in place and shut the door. Walking around to the rear of her car, she shut the trunk and continued around until she was at the driver's door.

"We ready?" she called to Eric.

"Yeah! You follow twelve-tango. I know how you drive, you have a lead foot," he decreed, half-jokingly.

"I don't have a lead foot," she joked back. "I just drive quickly."

He laughed as he climbed into the lead car. "Let's move!"


	3. Chapter 2: Road Trip!

**A/N:**_ Here's the 2__nd__ chapter of "The Caretakers: Controls." Additional notes at the end. And thanks to everyone who has chosen to favorite or follow this story or me as an author. As always, please let me know how I did and what I need to change; it's the only way I can get better! Tracy_

_P.S. Since I forgot to mention earlier . . .this is rated "T" for language. It shouldn't be any more naughty than the occasional swear word._

CHAPTER 2: ROAD TRIP: LEG ONE

Resigning herself to a long road trip, Ralene followed the refrigerated trailer that housed the largest NBT. She hated the fact the poor thing was being treated as nothing more than meat; it just wasn't right. Sighing in defeat, she began to make plans on how to bring the being out of chryo-stasis without endangering too many people, or other, smaller, NBT's.

"I really hate the way they insisted she be moved," she said aloud to her three small companions.

They chittered quietly in response.

She chuckled and continued, "The big girl in front of us," she told them in explanation.

The shy one beside her made a questioning chirp and tilted his head.

"The trailer in front of us," she told him, pointing, "is refrigerated. Protocols dictate that she _has_ to be moved while in chryo-stasis.

"That means she has to be frozen so she barely moves."

A confused chitter, whir, tone was the collective response.

"Yes, it does seem mean.

"Don't worry, we'll warm her up as soon as we get to where we're going."

The response was a cacophony of whirs, chitters, clicks and static.

Laughing, Ralene answered, "We'll be there in about ten more hours."

Her companions made various noises in response.

"You know, this is going to get really boring really quick," she mused aloud as she glanced quickly in the rear-view mirror, checking on her companions. "Would you like to listen to some music?"

They chittered at her quizzically.

"Yeah, I guess you don't know what music is. Well, only one way to find out," she said as she turned on the radio to her favorite local radio station.

The strains of the latest hit by one of the popular hair bands burst out of the speakers.

"Whoops! Sorry," she replied sheepishly as she quickly turned it down to a manageable decibel level.

"There! That's better."

For the next hour, the small NBT beside her listened intently to the radio. Satisfied that he was occupied, she began to focus more on the back seat. The little one with the visor covering his eyes seemed to be quite engrossed in his radio project, however, the one with wings seemed to be especially sad. Watching her for a while, she realized the little being was staring at the sky.

'Of course,' she thought to herself. 'Wings mean air. She wants to be in the sky. I'm going to have to figure out some way of teaching her to fly. In the meantime . . .' she trailed off as she quickly reached back and pulled the shade back off the sun roof. Not convinced it would be enough to just see the sky, she pushed the release to open the lever. Hopefully, it would give her some air to make her happy.

Glancing back in the mirror, she smiled at the contented look that was on the face of the small flier.

For the remainder of the first leg of the trip, Ralene and her small, metallic traveling companions rode in contented peace, each lost to their own thoughts.

Ralene decided it was not a moment too soon for the rest stop when the call came over the radio.

"Oh, thank the gods!" she said aloud in no small amount of relief.

A questioning chitter whir sounded from her companions.

"Gods? Many of my species believe that other, larger, more powerful and intelligent beings, called 'gods,' created us. The belief itself is called 'faith,' and the organization of that faith is called 'religion.' There are three major forms of religion; Atheists, who don't believe in any gods, monotheists, who believe in just one god and polytheists, who believe in multiple gods. A significant number of the populace, of this country anyway, believe in just one god. I'm part of a group who believe in multiple gods. We are often called 'pagans,' because we are considered off their path.

"Alright now, it's time for a rest stop. Don't worry, I'll be right back. No more than seven minutes, unless there's a long line."

Her smallest companion let out a desperate shrill and clutched onto her arm as she put the gear shift into "park."

"Hey, little one. It's alright. I'm coming back."

He wailed loudly and clutched at her tightly.

"I have to go. I'm human and we can only go so long before we have to refuel and remove our waste. If I don't go, it will cause me a great deal of pain and may lead to damage. Not to mention it will become incredibly unpleasant in here."

The other two in the back seat chittered quietly to their companion. He adamantly chirped back and clung tightly to her.

Ray sighed in resignation. "Will it make you feel better if you come with me?"

He relaxed slightly as he looked at her questioningly, a hopeful chirr sound coming from him.

"Alright, but you can't come in like that. Give me a second to get something out of the trunk. I promise I will be right back."

He chirped and released her, keeping his blue optics trained on her when she got out of the car.

"Hey, Ray. You want me to watch the little ones while you go in?" a soldier asked as he came around from the back of the neighboring transport.

"Thanks, Eddinger. If you could, I'd really appreciate it. I will be bringing the smallest one in with me though; it seems that he can't stand to let me leave his sight."

"You're taking one with you? _Inside_!?"

"Don't worry, I will have him covered, literally from head to toe," she said as she pulled out an over-sized sweat shirt that was supposed to be worn as a dress. Reaching into a different bag, she pulled out a small flannel throw.

"But still, inside? With other_ civilian _type people? Is that smart?"

"Probably not," she readily agreed as she walked back around to the driver's seat. "But the alternative is letting him pitch a fit that might draw even more undue attention.

"Besides, they need to learn to trust me. This is one way to do that." Easily, she slid inside the car and turned toward her small passenger.

"Alright you," she addressed him as she unbuckled his seat belt. "Let's get you ready to go out.

"Arms up," she said as she demonstrated. Once he complied, she quickly sheathed them with the arms of the sweatshirt. Making certain not to catch any of the various projections from his head on the material, she slipped the neck hole over and quickly pulled it down his body. Next, she shook the folds out of the throw and used it to cover his head, making sure that one corner would hang down in front of his face so no non-cleared personnel could see him.

"Come on," she told him as she opened the door and slid out of the car.

Quickly, the little being climbed over the center console and stood patiently in the driver's seat while she made another adjustment to his garment; pulling it down so it pooled at his feet. Satisfied that no part of his body was visible to the casual observer, she hefted him up onto her hip and closed the door.

"Here's the keys if you want to stay warm," she told Eddinger as she tossed them to him.

"Anything showing that shouldn't?" she asked as she turned so he had a full view of the NBT in her arms.

"Just, . . . there," he said as he pulled the sleeve back down over the small metallic hand.

"By the way, the rest of us are going to be filling them up while you guys are inside. Would you mind getting me a Whopper meal?"

"What do you want to drink?"

"Just a lemonade, if you could."

"I'll find someone to get us both something," she said as she collected the ten from him. "I don't think it would be smart to stay in there too long with him."

"Good point. I'll probably be over with the gas pumps." With that, he slipped into the car and started it up to follow along with the rest of the convoy.

Turning on her heel, she dodged through the frigid rain to make her way into the complex. Noticing Jimmy exiting the men's' room she quickly caught his attention, pointedly ignoring his look of shock when he saw the bundle in her arms, and gave him her and Eddinger's food orders.

"Why'd you bring him inside?!" he hissed in shock.

"'Cause it'd be a bigger headache to deal with him being left with the others. I don't know why, but it seems as though he's impressed upon me.

"Look, I have to go to the bathroom. I don't want him out here longer than necessary, so I really have to go. We can talk about it later. Will you get our food or not?"

Jimmy huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Fine! But you better get him back outta here quick.

"He wanted a Whopper meal with a lemonade and you want the BK Broiler meal, only mustard and pickle, with a chocolate covered strawberry milkshake, right?"

"Yep!" she happily informed as she rushed into the ladies' room.

Making her way to the very rear of the row, she quickly dove into the handicapped stall and was thankful to see the child's jump seat bolted to the wall. Depositing her small passenger into the seat with a grunt, she quickly buckled him in, realizing the plastic buckles would not be any match for him if he really wanted to get out, and rushed to the toilet.

Thankful that the seat was clean, probably as a result of the attendant she had noticed in her mad dash, she sunk down gratefully and closed her eyes in bliss as the pressure quickly lessened.

Sighing in relief, she opened her eyes dreamily and was hastily jolted back into reality by the bright blue orbs staring at her in open fascination. Curiously, he tilted his head to the side and chirped in question.

"I'm fine. Just hush for now and I can answer your questions when we get back to the car," she told him quietly.

"You alright in there?" the kindly voice of the attendant called from the other side of the door.

"Yes ma'am! Just trying to keep my son from waking up," she hastily supplied.

"Ah yes. How old is he?"

"Uh, three," she supplied as she frantically began to pray she could get finished soon so she could be out of this place before either she or the NBT gave themselves away. Besides, it wasn't a total lie, she just wouldn't clarify that he was only three days old instead of the three years old the woman would assume.

"Potty training age huh? I know all about those awkward questions little boys tend to have.

"You take all the time you need, dear," the attendant advised as she moved off.

"Thank you Artemis," Ray whispered quietly, doubly grateful that she seemed to have finished with the toilet as well.

Getting up to tend to her hygiene, she quickly finished and put herself back together before she approached the small being, grateful that this stall also had a sink in it.

"Alright! Time to go," she informed as she bent down to readjust the blanket and sleeves of the sweatshirt.

"Is that the little tyke?" the kindly attendant asked as she saw Ray leaving the stall quickly.

"Yes," she hastily informed as she continued to walk toward the door.

"Can I have a look?"

"NO! I mean, he's had a bad night and he wakes up really easily when he's under the lights."

"Oh. Well, in that case then," the attendant began to say as the younger woman hastened out of the bathroom.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

The attendant had a bad feeling. There had been a report about a kidnapped child three days ago and it seemed awful suspicious the way that girl was acting. Nodding her head to herself that it was her civic duty, she followed the pair out the door as she called over her walkie-talkie her suspicions. She paused when she saw the girl approach the military convoy that was fueling up. Surely, the military wasn't involved with kidnapping. They had to be ignorant of what was happening. Quickening her step, she heard the call over the radio that the state troopers were on their way and she was to at least get a license plate.

"I'll do more than that," the woman muttered to herself. She watched in dread as the girl fastened the little boy into the front passenger seat and shut the door. She then walked around to the driver's door and retrieved the keys from the soldier that was standing there. Instantly, he stepped back and was making his way toward the rear of the car by the time the older woman reached the passenger side door.

"You're not taking him!" she roared as she tried to wrench the door open. A startled squeal sounded from the other side of the glass as she looked down in shock at twin blue orbs glowing softly through the window surrounded by a frightened face. A frightened, _metal_ face.

Almost instantly, she felt herself slammed against the side of the car as her arm was brutally wrenched behind her and the cold metal of a handcuff snapped shut around her wrist. The next instant, she was on the ground with both wrists cuffed behind her and a man was yelling in her ear.

"What was _that_?" she demanded in shock. "What the _hell_ was _that_?"

"Do NOT move!" the man yelled in her ear.

"What _is_ it?" she demanded.

"If you don't know what it is, then why did you try to take it?" another man asked curiously.

"I wasn't trying to take _that_," the cuffed woman tried to explain, "I was trying to save the little boy who'd been kidnapped three days ago."

"Take her with us for debriefing," the woman whom she had followed ordered. "Jimmy, inform the manager that she is under federal custody. Eric, handle the state authorities. I have to calm down these guys."

Harshly, the attendant was bodily hauled upright and moved to another black sedan with darkened windows by three men in black suits.

"Calm down _who_?" the woman demanded in confusion as she was led away. "What was that? Do you have an alien? Is that what this is? Did I stumble on a real area fifty one event or something?

"I am a citizen of the United States of America! I know my rights and you _have_ to tell me the charges against me.

"Where are you taking me? I want a lawyer!" she began to scream as panic set in. Her three escorts remained mute as they forced her into the car and secured her in the back seat.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

Ray watched in dread as the state police arrived with their sirens blaring and lights flashing. Fortunately, the screams from the Good Samaritan had been muffled by the car she was currently sitting in, preventing her from attracting even more attention.

She watched Eric approach the closest state trooper with his badge held out. She saw the subtle gesturing by both as they held their subdued conversation. As they spoke, she remained sitting in her car to try and calm her small passengers.

Settling the NBT's had proven to be a bit more time consuming than she had initially thought. They had really been frightened. The compassionate part of her hated the idea that such young beings had been scared, but the scientific part of her almost crowed in victory at the obvious proof that she was right. Sentient beings were self-aware, which meant they had the capability of offering comfort to others and feeling empathy. Recognizing that this was not the time for that, she made a mental note to document the fact when she did her paperwork.

"You know," she told the NBT's seated around her, "I just hope that we don't end up proving you guys into decommission."

Several cautious chitterring whirs was the response.

"Well, let's just say that some of my superiors don't want to deal with the mess they would have put themselves in if I can prove my theories."

She took a bite of her sandwich as she listened to them chatter between themselves.

"Hm? Oh, yes," she said at her smallest companion's tug on her sleeve, "I know you guys are alive and sentient, but if I can prove it to my supervisors, scientifically speaking, it means they are going to have to acknowledge we aren't alone. Not to mention that when adults of your species find out about you, well, let's just say they will have every reason to condemn our entire planet for our vanity."

Her little companion clamped his arms around hers and squealed in denial.

"Thanks for the backup," she said with a smile as she awkwardly patted his hand with her sandwich filled one.

"Now, would you mind letting go? I really would like to eat this before we leave the parking lot."

He made a contented purr before he reluctantly released her.

Smiling down at him again, she turned on the ignition and then the radio was filling the silence with the latest country hit.

"Country? I don't think so!" she muttered before she hastily turned the tuning dial to an oldies station.

The little companion watched in fascination as the twist of the scientist's wrist opened up a whole new world to explore.

"I know what you're thinking," she addressed the small NBT in the seat beside her, "and as long as it isn't country music, you can listen to whatever you want. Country music makes me sad."

**A/N2:**_ I'm sure that there are a few questions that are going to pop up throughout the story. To answer a few of them . . . and try to entice you to continue with your reading, here is a brief listing of questions that are probably circling in your helms about this:_

_Yes, the littlest sparkling has "impressed" on Dr. Ray. The real facts will become clearer about what, exactly, happened to the two of them by the end of the story._

_She doesn't know yet that she is actually understanding the sparklings' language at this time. A clue was left in the previous chapter . . . _

_This story is being told from the perspective of the Sector 7 scientists. For that reason, Cybertronian specific terms will not be used because humans wouldn't know them._

_If there are any other questions, that you have in relation to this story, please write a review, (Guest reviews are enabled,) or PM me. I will do my best to try and answer them with the story itself, but there may be some questions it just doesn't occur to me you may have._

_Sincerely,_

_Tracy_


	4. Chapter 3: Facility, Sweet Facility

**A/N:**_ Another chapter for you! If you just started reading the last chapter, please go back to the previous one . . . I gave you a post-holiday two-fer. Please be aware that this story will probably be updated relatively quickly since a good portion of it has already been written. At least until I'm done with the parts that were already done. As always, please let me know what I did right or what I need to fix. Sincerely, Tracy._

_CHAPTER_ 3: FACILITY, SWEET FACILITY

The remainder of the trip was filled by the two apparent male beings playing their own version of "Battle of the Bands" once the larger one discovered he had repaired a radio. It was rare when they were able to agree on a song they both wanted to hear, which quickly brought a long suffering response from the little flier. It was when they began to squabble when no stations would come in that they discovered the wonder of prerecorded music. Ray found it amusing that the little mechanic seemed to not appreciate her sense of music, at least, not the two tapes he had access to. The one in front, however, seemed to like all music. It wasn't long until he was trilling along with the radio when it was a song he had heard before and bobbing his head with the beat.

"Okay guys, looks like we're here," she told her passengers as they approached the compound.

Eagerly, they began to chitter to each other in their excitement. Curiously, they began to crane their necks to try and see anything, excitedly clicking to each other when they could.

"Yes, this is going to be your new home," she told them conversationally.

They chittered to each other. Suddenly, the little one turned off the radio and tugged at her sleeve, a frightened questioning sound coming from him.

"No, I won't be living with you. I'll be staying for a few days until my belongings get here, then I'll have my own place not far away."

A terrified shriek left him as he grabbed her arm in a death grip and refused to let go. He made watery, warbling coos at her in his desperation.

"Hey! It's alright. You're going to be fine," she tried to sooth as she awkwardly tried to park the car.

He steadfastly refused to give up her arm as he continued to mournfully warble.

"Alright now, listen," she said gently as she successfully parked and turned toward him. "It is going to take a whole eighteen days for my belongings to get here and my house to be ready. Why don't we see how things work in the meantime, and if it does, we'll figure out some way for me to stay on the compound. Does that sound like something that's acceptable?"

He slowly released her arm as he gave a hopeful chirp.

"That's what I thought. Now, I have some things to take care of and I need to make sure you are safe. So, will you be a good boy and let me do my work?"

The little NBT took a deep breath and gave a forceful ex-vent as he chirped resolutely.

"Everything's ready Ray . . ." a new woman started as she opened the driver's side door.

"Holy _shit_! You let 'em _out_?" she continued as she stared at the small metal faces looking up at her in a mixture of curiosity, fear and surprise.

"Hello Jaime. Yes, they were all very well behaved most of the ride back. I want to get them to the dormitory as soon as possible and get them settled in," the scientist answered her assistant.

"Did you direct Peterson to the loading garage? We had a bit of an issue at a rest stop." She finished.

"Uh, yeah? So, they didn't, like, attack you or anything?" she found herself smiling as the small being in the front seat hastily tried to cover himself with a throw.

"No. This one, though," Ray motioned to the one beside her, "seems to have impressed upon me somehow. We should make a note of it in his file."

"Really? So, d'you think it's natural for them to create such strong attachments to people or is it maybe, y'know, just because of proximity?"

"I'm not sure," the elder scientist answered as she unbuckled herself and then turned to unbuckle her small companion. "But he was screaming to the rafters after I came back from the bathroom before we even left."

Ralene shrugged as she climbed from the car and then reached back to lift the small being out after her. "Maybe it was because he was only three days old and I was the one who let him out of the crate."

"Hmm, maybe. So what about the others?"

"The wing frame seemed to be content to just watch the sky during the whole trip. Never gave much of a fuss. The other standard frame was trying to dismantle my door when I came back. Had to give him my old boom box to fiddle with during the trip, or we might very well have ended up walking the last half."

The lead scientist reached in and leaned across the small flier to unbuckle her. While she was there, she unbuckled the other seatbelt and backed out so she could lift the female NBT out. Turning to set the flier down, she crawled back into the car to remove the travel tray and help the last NBT out.

"Yes, you can bring it with you," she laughed as he maintained his hold on the tray, boom box and tool set.

He gave a happy trill as he hugged his new possessions.

"Hey, where's the wing frame?" Ralene asked as she turned back to her assistant who was pulling things out of the trunk.

"Hmm? I don't know. I thought it was with you."

"_Shit_!" the lead scientist exclaimed as she began to frantically look around for the missing NBT. Finally, she looked up toward the sound of an industrial sized fan and saw the little female standing in front of it; reaching her hands toward it longingly.

"Wait here," she ordered the remaining NBT's as she trotted over to the missing one.

"Hey, little wings," she cooed gently at the small being. "Why'd you run off like that? You know, that could be dangerous, what with all of the people and cars coming and going. Please don't do that again; you had me worried."

The small female chittered distractedly as she continued to play with the breeze from the fan.

"You were chasing the wind, weren't you?"

A delighted purr was the response.

"Alright, I brought a fan with me. You can have it for your bunk. Come on and let's get you and the others settled in."

Gently, but firmly, the small being was pulled from her spot in front of the fan. With longing looks at the wind maker, she allowed herself to be led to her remaining companions.

"Alright guys!" Ray shouted to gain the attention of everyone who was milling around. "Gather 'round! Get your assignments!"

Quickly, the movement within the garage ceased as everyone gathered around their superior and quieted.

"Everyone, with the exception of security, here?" she asked as she looked toward her department heads. They all glanced around to check attendance and nodded when everyone was accounted for.

"Great. This is what we need to do; everyone will drop off their gear at their quarters to start with, Mr. McCutchen has your assignments and Miss Leslie has maps available for the facility, as well as the schedule for the mess hall. It is open late tonight because we just got here and it will take us some time to get settled. Next, we will begin moving the NBT's to their dormitory and prepare to release twelve-tango. As you all can see by my three traveling companions, with patience and kindness, the NBT's are all pretty much tame. They seem to behave much like human children, so try to treat them accordingly.

"Jimmy, do you have the company card?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to determine how many wing frames there are and then go to the local store and try to get as many fans for them. Try to get the smaller, personal sized fans to be set up over each of their bunks. You can use my car once all of my belongings are in my quarters.

"Tiff, I need you to go to the local grocery store and do a little shopping. Ready for the list?"

At the short blonde's instant nod, Ray continued, "Get a gallon of apple cider, apple juice, an assortment of the different apples, two each, orange juice, a bag of oranges, pineapple, both fresh and canned, lemon juice, lemons, two will do, lime juice, two limes, at least ten bushels of corn and fifty pounds of potatoes.

"Got that?"

"Yeah, I got it," Tiff affirmed with obvious confusion.

"Good, I may have to send you out for more tomorrow.

"McCoy, Jorgensen, I need to see you in the chemistry lab tonight. Figure about ten. If I'm not there, just come get me down here; I'll probably be overseeing tango's thawing.

"Everyone else! Because of our other duties of getting in and setting up, you can expect to not have to deal with the rotation until the fifteen hundred shifts, unless you were already informed you would be working in the morning. In that case, I believe there are only four of you?" she asked as she looked toward the convoy commander who nodded. "Then, you four are excused from helping with the NBT's getting settled. You will drop your gear, get your chow and then are free for the rest of the evening. I would strongly encourage you to spend it getting some shut-eye.

"Any questions?"

No one had any, so they were quickly dismissed and she turned back toward her head of security.

"Jenn, the attendant incident," she started.

"That the civilian you guys brought in with you?" Jennifer Leslie confirmed.

"Yeah. This one here," Ray started explaining before she was asked as she motioned to the small NBT, "refused to let me leave his sight. I think he may have imprinted on me.

"Anyway, I covered him, as you can see, and brought him into the bathroom with me. The civilian was an attendant at the rest stop and asked if we were alright through the stall door. I told her we were, that I was just trying to keep my son from waking up, so she left and I thought that was the end of it. Instead, she decided she wanted to see my 'son,' and tried to pull the blanket off his face. I told her he had a bad night and the lights tended to wake him up. She then decided that I must be a kidnapper and the NBT was my victim, so she followed me to the convoy and had her supervisors call the state troopers. Instead of getting my plates and a description of my car, she thought she'd be a hero and 'rescue' the kidnap victim herself. That's when she tried to open the car door and saw him through the window.

"As soon as she touched the car door, Eddinger apprehended her and Smithson started to question her. She proved uncooperative and demanded to know what she had seen. I then had them immediately take her into custody and brought her with us."

"Alright. I'll deal with her as soon as we get her records. Anything else I need to know? Other than the fact you had _three_ NBT's _unrestrained_ within your car."

"They were wearing seatbelts," Ray defended lamely.

"Uh-huh. You also had no idea what they were going to be like when you let them out. Start explaining."

"Simmons."

"Ugh! What'd he do?"

"He had all of the transports taken to the motor pool to be washed, waxed, repaired or detailed. If he had his way, I would have had to either leave fourteen of them behind, or else leave tango behind so I could take the rest. We were able to have the crates of all but these three transported with the personnel."

"That was still stupid. Why'd you do it?"

"Because I needed to prove to myself, as well as those on my project, that they were not going to be a threat with proper treatment."

"Fine. Consider yourself lucky, _this_ time, but don't count on your luck to last."

"I never do," Ray muttered as her security chief turned on her heel and left.

"Alright guys," she turned back to her small companions, "would you like to help me move my things into my quarters?"

They chittered agreeably.

"Well, first, let's get you out of this," she addressed the smallest one. "Otherwise, you are going to keep tripping over it whenever you try to walk."

After she had removed it from the small NBT, he determinedly held onto it.

"Fine, you can keep it. I never wear it anyway," she relented with a sigh. "Why don't you put it in here so you don't accidentally lose it?" she suggested as she pulled out an empty plastic bag.

The small being examined the plastic bag warily before he carefully placed the sweatshirt and throw in it. Smiling at his seriousness, Ray gently slid the handles up over his arms so the bag hung on his back like a back pack.

Amazed at the new sensation, she laughed as he started twisting himself around in circles to try and look at the bag. After watching the reaction of their smallest companion, the other two began to laugh at his antics as well. Finally, the flier was able to get him to stop turning when she said something. He gave an indignant squeak in response and resolutely grabbed the box that he could see a large fan sitting in. Immediately, the flier began to squawk angrily and try to swipe the box away.

"Children!" Ray snapped sharply to gain their attention. They stopped suddenly and looked up at her with guilty gazes.

"You can let him take that one, and you can take this one," she addressed the winged being, showing her another box with a pedestal fan inside of it. Instantly, her expression lightened and she eagerly grabbed the box.

"And you," she addressed the last member of her companions, "can put your new stuff in here and take this box." She handed him a heavier box with different tools in it. He gently laid his new possessions on top and eagerly took hold of the box.

"And these will go on the dolly," she finished aloud to the three of her companions as she loaded the two remaining boxes and her luggage onto the wheeled device.

"We ready? Then let's go!" she said happily as she pushed the dolly ahead of her and led the small group of NBT's to her quarters. She was pleased to note that the door was open, so she only had to push her belongings in and set them down.

"Now," she addressed the NBT's, "you have your stuff," she said to the smallest, "and you have yours," to the visor wearing one, "and I promised you your own fan," to the wing frame.

"Which one do you want?" she asked as she pulled out the two different fans.

The female looked at both critically before she decided on the large, box fan.

"Alright! One box fan. You want to carry it or would you like me to?"

Stubbornly, the flier clutched at her new treasure and resolutely marched toward the door, dragging the fan along behind her.

Ray chuckled at the sight as she called out after her, "Don't you think it would be a good idea to know where you're going?"

The NBT stopped suddenly and looked back toward the scientist sheepishly.

"That's what I thought. C'mon, it's this way," she said as she locked her door and pocketed the key, then led them down the hall for three doors, turning into the fourth one opposite her quarters.

The small metallic beings stood transfixed at the sight of 22 military issued beds stretching out before them, 11 on each side of the room. They were oriented so the headboards were closest to the walls with small, wooden, two drawer dressers pushed against the walls. Each dresser had access to its own power outlet. In the center, were all of the crates of their fellow NBT's spaced carefully so that there was plenty of room to walk around each one and open it. At the end of the room, there was a large, open space guarded by a railing. Behind the railing, the floor and the ceiling had been removed to create a single, two and a half story room.

"This is it! Why don't you guys pick out your bunks?" she encouraged as she turned toward the crates. "I'll just unlock the others."

Easily, she pulled the ring of keys out of her other pocket and began to unlock the padlocks and set them on the top of the crates. Once the locks were undone, she turned back to the already free beings and just observed as they shyly walked around the various beds, trying to decide which ones they wanted. Eventually, the first being decided to claim the bed and dresser in the corner closest to the door on the right.

Soon, drawn by the high ceiling, the winged being chose the bed and dresser at the end of the room on the left. Carefully, she lifted the fan onto her new dresser and hesitantly poked it.

Ray smiled and walked over to teach her how to turn the device on.

"Since I don't think you're going to be big enough to turn it on if we set it upright, let's put it on its side," she started as she oriented it so the bottom was closest to the plug. "Now, we have to plug it in," she explained and demonstrated. "Okay, and now, we can turn it on," Ray finished as she showed the small flier how to adjust the dial to change the speed setting.

Issuing a trill of excitement, the flier scrambled up onto her bed and sat down facing the fan. She turned off her eyes and concentrated on the feel of the wind over her frame and wings. Chittering quietly to herself, she climbed off the bed and changed the speed before she climbed back onto the bed and repeated the process. After running through each setting twice at different angles, she gave a contented coo and climbed off the bed to help with the rest of the NBT's.

"That's how you want it?" the scientist asked sincerely,

An affirmative sounding chirp was her response.

"Alright then. And what about you?" she asked of the smallest male.

He tilted his head quizzically at her and then proceeded to hug her leg, chittering quietly.

"Oh sweetie! I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna be able to keep you with me. You see, I'm going to have to work, and that means occasionally traveling. When I do, you'll have to stay here with the others."

His answer was a terrified shriek and a tighter hold around her leg.

Lowering herself down to his level, she gently extracted her leg from his grip and held him by the shoulders. "Hey, little one, let's make a deal, alright?"

He chirred hopefully at her.

"I'm not going to be able to keep you with me all the time, so why don't we pick out a bunk for you here? You know where my quarters are, so if you ever need me, you'll know where to find me. Okay? I'll even give you your own copy of my room key, so you can always get in. Does that sound like a plan?"

The little NBT gave a mournful trill and threw himself back into her arms.

"Hey, sweetie, you won't be alone, honest! There will be all of the other NBT's and people will always be nearby to keep you company."

The larger being with the visor over his eyes gently approached and placed a hand on his companion's shoulder. Quietly, he chirred in comfort as he tried to convince his smaller fellow to let the human go.

"Why don't we give you the bed beside this guy here?" she suggested as she gently pried him off her. "I'm going to be really busy getting everyone settled tonight and have no idea when I'll even be able to make it to bed myself. It won't be healthy for you to miss too much sleep, so if you try to stay here tonight, for as long as you can, I won't say anything if you need to stay with me more often after that. That's the best I can do. I don't want you to get hurt if something doesn't go right. Deal?"

He warbled something resignedly back to his visored friend who chirred back in encouragement. Ex-venting deeply, he turned back to the human and chittered in response.

"Tell ya what, you can help me with the rest of my duties until I have to wake up the big girl. That's just too dangerous and I don't want any of you guys to get hurt. Alright?"

Eyes brightening visibly, he launched himself into her arms and trilled happily.


	5. Chapter 4: Out of the Dark

**A/N:**_ So, here's an early New Year's present for you folks! Hope you enjoy it. As always, please let me know what I did wrong and right so I can give you guys a better product! LGTracy_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Since I forgot to do this for a couple of previous chapters - Whopper and BK Broiler are the property of Burger King. No infringement was implied nor intended. No financial gain has been received. (Tidbit: the BK Broiler was the name of their grilled chicken sandwich during the '80's. After the name was discontinued, the grilled chicken sandwich was re-branded as the Chicken Whopper, in the '90's/'00's, then the Tender Grill we know today.) The "chocolate covered strawberry milk shake," is an invention I request when ordering a milkshake. It is just a mix of the strawberry and chocolate shake mixes._

CHAPTER 4: OUT OF THE DARK

"You about to open 'em?" Jimmy asked as he walked into the dormitory.

"Yeah," Ralene confirmed as she gave one more squeeze to the little NBT hugging her tightly before extracting herself. "Would you like to help?"

"Do you think they're gonna attack?"

"Not likely. But then again, I can't be certain."

Turning back to the small being hiding behind her shyly, "Why don't you put your things on your bunk and then you can help?" she asked.

Looking up to her for a moment, he skirted between two crates before darting up the aisle to his bunk. Once there, he dumped his bag with the couple items in it and ran directly back to her side, making sure to keep the crates between him and the stranger.

"How about we start down here and you start up there?" she asked the newcomer.

"Alright, are one of you guys gonna help me? Make sure I do it right?" he addressed the NBT's gathered around the scientist and looking at him in curiosity.

The smallest hugged the leg of his supervisor and chirred in fear. The other two, the winged frame and the visor wearing one chittered quietly back and forth for a few seconds before the male cautiously made his way to the human male's side.

"We'll be monitoring as well," Jenn said as she led a group of armed guards into the room.

"Jenn! I really wish you wouldn't," Ray whined.

"You know this is to protect you as much as it is everyone else."

"Fine!" the younger woman huffed out in resignation. "But no aiming! You can stand at the ready, but don't go pointing those guns at them; we don't need to scare them into an incident."

"Fine, don't actively aim unless you have to fire," Jenn ordered her men.

"And try to be friendly to them. They act like children, so assume they are and treat them accordingly."

"Whaddaya mean treat 'em like kids?" an older guard questioned as he took up a position near the bunk the winged frame had claimed.

"Exactly what I said. Just watch the way they behave and then try and draw mental parallels to the behaviors of groups of humans. If you have to, ask yourself, 'What human acts like that?' to try and bridge the gap."

Mentally, Ray made a note to have the guard shipped out as soon as she possibly could; the only reason he was even here is because Simmons had ordered it. According to Jimmy, the head of security specifically requested this guard be assigned to 'protect her from herself.' More like tank her research, in her opinion.

Mentally dismissing the line of thought, she walked toward the back of the room where the unfriendly guard was. Squatting down to be eye level with the small one and the flier, she looked them both in the eyes, "You ready?"

They both made affirmative noises, even though the smallest male kept sneaking uneasy peeks at the guard.

"Let's do this," she said as she opened the first crate. Purposely, she kept herself between the future, former employee and the opening door.

"Hey little one," she cooed into the darkness. Twin yellow lights blinked up at her in confusion where the mass they were attached to huddled in the corner.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you and I won't let anyone else either."

The yellow eyed NBT seemed to try and shrink into itself even more.

Her little companion then softly called into the crate as well.

Instantly, the eyes perked up and the being cautiously began to inch its way forward.

"That's a good little guy. No one is going to hurt you."

The yellow eyed mass made questioning chitter, chuffing sounds that the small flier quickly answered. In response, the yellow eyed NBT hurried out of the crate and gently clasped the first's elbows in a gentle grip as he touched his forehead to hers. They made more chuffing sounds to each other for a few minutes before standing upright and looking back at her expectantly.

"Well, that one wasn't so bad," Ray said, pleased at the outcome.

"It seems that wing frames have a common language. Wonder how they understand the other frames?" she continued, wondering aloud.

"I got another standard frame down here," Jimmy said as he and his small helper managed to convince the NBT to exit his dark crate.

"Wing frame here!" she called back. "I'm moving on."

"Same here."

They opened the next crates in their respective lines. With the freed beings' help, they were able to coax the remaining NBT's out of their crates with little difficulty.

Jimmy and Ray stood together as they observed the way the small beings interacted and began to explore their new environment. The small NBT that had adopted the lead scientist cuddled closely to her leg until he saw a newly freed NBT begin to investigate his own bunk. Issuing a loud squeal of anger, he ran at the trespasser and hastily took his belongings back. From the tone of his clicks, whirrs, chitters and whistles, he was giving the other a strong tongue lashing.

A loud yell of "Hey!" from Simmons' guard had Ray already running at him. Almost immediately, there was the sound of metal hitting metal and a loud, metallic shriek of pain. Before the small wing frame had finished his scream, the scientist had the larger man pinned down with a martial arts maneuver.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" she hissed dangerously into his face.

"It tried to grab my weapon!" he tried to accuse through a significantly constricted airway.

"Bull. Shit. I was keeping an eye on you, he did no such thing. He was just tapping on the stock. Maybe he was trying to determine what it was made of, or if it was hollow or something. You know, like any curious _child _would do with an unknown item. Either way, you will no longer have access to them, _any_ of them.

"Jenn!" she called to her head of security. "Get this son of a bitch out of my sight. I don't want him anywhere near the kids or any of my staff. I want him gone before dawn. Send him back to Simmons, if he'll have him. If not, just ship him off to the worst assignment you know."

"Dilos, Tate, escort him to his bunk. He's got some packing to do. And make sure he doesn't leave your sight," the elder woman ordered two other guards standing on either side of the downed guard.

"I'm so sorry he did that," she continued to her supervisor. "I can assure you, he won't be anywhere near here ever again. According to his records, he has problems with female authority," she whispered to the scientist as she tended to the injured NBT.

"Yeah, I know. Jimmy slipped me his file yesterday."

With gentle fingers, she probed around the small gash on his right temple. She noticed that it was still leaking the blue substance freely, so quickly put on the special anti-NBE fluid gloves and applied steady pressure.

"There, there, little one," she cooed to the still distressed wing frame. "He won't be back. And you have my permission to kick him where it will hurt the most if he ever tries to hurt you or any of the others again."

As Ray spoke to the rather large wing frame, he seemed to calm down and began to push into her touch. When he began to purr, she could not help the pleased chuckle that escaped.

"I guess you like that," she smirked happily. A flurry of movement to the left had her glancing up at another smaller, more feminine wing frame and slightly larger, boxier shaped standard frame. They both seemed to be paying rapt attention to her movements.

"I'm hoping that your bodies heal similar to our own," she tried to explain to them. "And when a human starts bleeding from a smaller cut like this, depending on how deep it is, pressure applied to the wound will give the body enough time to seal it on its own. Now, shall we see if it worked?" she asked of them.

They both made affirmative noises and watched intently as she removed her hand from the wound. Retrieving a sterile cloth from her pocket, she gently dabbed the substance away to get a better look at the injury and was pleased to note it had stopped leaking and seemed to have closed.

"Wow! Looks like it's the same for both our species," she murmured aloud.

The two small observers quickly mobbed the victim and looked at the wound critically. If any word could best fit what next happened, it would have been 'surprising;' the two smaller NBT's both aimed their arms at the injury and shot red lasers at it.

"What the . . ?" Jimmy asked in surprise.

"Is it an attack?" Jenn immediately asked as she took a step back and grabbed at her sidearm.

"I don't think so," Ray hastily replied. "I mean, he doesn't look like he's in pain. And he _would_ be in pain if they were attacking him, wouldn't he?"

"I guess so, if we are going to assign human characteristics to them," Jimmy mused.

"They certainly seem to act like human children," Jenn agreed as she relaxed her posture.

"Anyway, they don't seem to be a threat, so I'm going to dismiss my men for the moment. I am, however, going to keep a couple posted at the monitors to intercede in case that changes," Jenn decided as she signaled to the detail.

Quietly, the detail left the dormitory. Ray made sure to make note of the ones who seemed the least anxious to leave; she would have to check them out a little more thoroughly.

"You want to know more about those guards that seemed to actually enjoy the NBT's, don't you?" Jimmy asked with a knowing smirk.

"Of course. They might come in handy."

Turning back to the dormitory, she observed the rest of the NBT's as they began to settle down. She noticed that all of the wing frames seemed to be drawn toward her small passenger's bunk, or, more likely, her fan. Turning to look at the rest, she watched as most of them seemed to wander aimlessly in curiosity, until someone discovered the visored one's stash of tools. At first, Ray thought that he was going to get angry and possessive of them, like the smallest passenger had. As she watched, she was pleased to see that he seemed to be showing them off like they were treasures. She had to laugh when he brought out his repaired boom box and turned it on. As soon as he got a local oldies station to come in, he began to show some of the others how to work the volume. When one of the others discovered the tuning control, he immediately turned it until the smooth, lilting strains of "Brahms' Lullaby" began to fill the air.

The two humans stood transfixed as the NBT's seemed to be drawn into the haunting strains and relaxed. It wasn't long until the smallest ones began to cuddle into each other and settle to the soothing music, allowing it to lull them into sleep.

Making sure that her little shadow had fallen into a blissful state of unconsciousness, Ray turned to check on the flight frames. Even though they were obviously exhausted, she noted they still refused to let go of each other enough to get into the independent bunks. Watching for a moment, she thought how it was admirable the way they locked their arms together to keep from falling.

"Jimmy," she whispered to her companion, "help me move these couple bunks together. Let's give 'em a larger place to hold on to each other."

"You think that's going to last?" he asked as he moved to help her.

"Don't know if it's natural behavior, or if it's just because of the newness of their surroundings. They _have_ had a big day."

"Yeah.

"So, do you think these six bunks together will be enough room for them all?" he finished as he pushed the last bed up against the foot of another.

"Yeah. Especially since they seem to all be determined to keep hold of each other."

With just a little urging, the NBT's were convinced to crawl up into the newly expanded bed. Just as Ray had surmised, as soon as they were on the beds, they cuddled together and fell asleep.

"We gonna tuck 'em in?" Jimmy asked as they turned back to the door.

"Just the standard frames. I think the aerial frames need to feel the air on their wings. Besides, the way they're all dog piled together, I'd say they will be keeping each other plenty warm."

Jimmy grunted noncommittally as he began to help put small frames under the warm blankets. He murmured gently to those who began to stir when he moved them until they settled again.

Ray smiled as she turned to her own task, also tucking in the now sleeping standard frames beneath the blankets. If anyone were to comment on how much longer she spent with a certain, smaller NBT, she would assure them they were mistaken. And she most certainly did _not_ kiss him on the head just before she got up to leave.

"Hey, can I borrow your car again?" Jimmy asked quietly as they left the dormitory.

"Why?" she asked warily.

"I think it would be a good idea to get more things for them. After all, the visored one has both tools and a boom box, the little one has a sweatshirt and his own blanket, the flight frames all are going to have their own fans . . . so, wouldn't it only be fair that the others get to have something of their own?"

"Yeah, you're right. What did you have in mind?"

"There's still three more hours before the local stores close; so I was thinking about getting things like coloring books and crayons and water paints and instruments and more tools and paper and toys. You know, stuff that you would normally get for kids."

"Hmm, take the minivan and a couple of the guards that really seemed to like the kids. Try to see if they have the scars too."

"Yeah, that'll give me more room to fill too," he agreed with a cheeky grin as he shyly hid the mentioned scar under his shirt sleeve.

"Okay, I'm gonna go thaw the titan frame. And don't forget to get car wash and waxes too; the finer the better. You know with all of those paints and stuff, they're gonna get dirty."

"Noted," he agreed as he rushed off to find his unsuspecting shopping partners.

Ray laughed as she turned the other way to head toward the lab. She had a titan to awaken.


	6. Chapter 5: Waking the Titan

**A/N:**_ And another chapter for you! Just for those who don't speak American English as their first language; the term "kids" is a common slang term for children. The official definition of the term "kids" is a juvenile goat. Dr. Ralene and the members of her staff will refer to their charges as kids because Ray is encouraging them to be thought of as children. Plus, it will also help to keep their cover if they need to discuss them over an unsecured phone line._

CHAPTER 5: WAKING THE TITAN

"What's the status?" Ralene asked as she walked into the lab.

"Tango has warmed by three degrees in the past hour," Jaime said as she wrote something on the clipboard in her hand. "As per your orders, we have turned off three of the coolant generators and reduced the output of the rest by ten percent.

"Systems are still showing minimal activity."

"Hmm, let's see if we can increase her temperature by five degrees over the next hour. Turn off another two generators and reduce the output by another five percent.

"I'm going to be on the catwalk and trying to talk with her. Hopefully, if there's someone there to walk her out of her stasis, she'll be less panicked."

"Is that smart?" Tiff asked in concern.

"It's better than letting her wake up in a frantic state and possibly hurting herself or us in her fear."

"You're the boss," she said in resignation.

Ray nodded and then climbed the stairs to the catwalk elevated over the behemoth. "Hey there, big girl!" she softly cooed at the still figure below her. "Sorry about the way you had to be moved, but it was out of my hands. Don't worry, I won't let it happen to you again."

"Dr. Clark!" Tiff yelled up from behind her terminal. "There's a point four percent increase in her internal systems response."

The lead scientist nodded distractedly.

"That was Dr. Tiffany Gerard," she continued to the being. "She's monitoring your systems so that you don't wake up too fast. We don't know what would happen if we just turned it all off and let you warm up quickly. That's why you're being warmed slowly, hopefully it will minimize any potential damage the cold has caused."

"Elevation in heart beat by three beats per minute!" Tiff called out again.

"I promise, I won't let you get frozen again as long as I have the power to prevent it.

"I can't wait until you meet the others," Ray continued, changing the subject.

"Systems increase by one percent! Heart beat increase by four beats per minute!"

"Temperature increase of seven degrees!" Jaime called. "She's beginning to warm from the inside out."

"Decrease half of the generators' output by two percent. Alternating pattern," the scientist yelled down to her two assistants.

"That idea caught your attention, didn't it?" Ray chuckled as she resumed talking to the NBT. "Well, let me tell you a little about what's going on; you and twenty-two others have been given into my team's care. What we are going to try to do is learn from each other and I will try and take care of you to the best of my ability. I'll be the first to admit we'll make some mistakes. Hopefully, they won't be permanent, or too painful. And I am going to need your help with that.

"You see, you are much larger than me and everyone else here, so I'm going to need you to remember that we are a lot weaker than you. Please try to keep your strength in check so you don't accidentally crush anyone. That will hurt people. Hurting people is bad. We don't hurt people. Alright?"

"Temp up three more degrees!" Jaime called up.

"That was Dr. Jaime Preston. She's monitoring your temperature so we can warm you up at a steady pace," the lead scientist continued to her new patient.

"Anyway, we consider you a titan frame. That's because you are the largest being we have ever seen. The others are all standard frames, which means they look like us, only much smaller, wing frames and rotor frames, plus there is also a combination wing/rotor frame that is essentially a wing frame with a propeller instead of jet engines. We also have a water frame too, but they are almost as rare as you. They are considered 'amphibious' frames.

"You know, it sure was an adventure bringing you guys here; the head of operations at the last facility did whatever he could think of to keep you and the others. He even went so far as having the transports taken apart just so we wouldn't be able to bring you all.

"Don't worry though, we were able to fix him; we transported most of the remaining kids with the staff, although they all had to stay in their crates, and then I took the last three out of theirs and they all rode with me. I don't know why, but the littlest one seems to have adopted me or something. It's like he is afraid I'll disappear or something. Then, the first one has sensitive eyes and some sort of eye coverings. He likes to play with mechanical items. And the last one that rode with me was a flier."

"Up an additional twelve degrees!" Jaime called up.

"Primary systems are booting up," Tiffany informed as she frantically switched her gaze from one read out to another, not even looking at her notes as she scribbled even more.

"Which systems?" Ray asked her assistant.

"Looks like temp control, fuel pump, primary memory relays and auditory input relays."

"Good. Maintain coolant for now, but as soon as the neural net begins to boot, I want them off. Don't want to take the risk of the coolant causing her pain."

"Understood," Jaime acknowledged.

"So, it seems that you can hear me for certain now, huh?" the lead scientist continued to her giant patient. "Good. Guess you're curious about what's going on.

"Well, while Tiff and Jaime where starting to warm you up, I was with the rest of the others to get them out of their crates. For the most part, there were no problems with any of them. The only real problem came from one of the guards. He decided he wasn't going to play nice, so I sent him away. He will be leaving in a couple of hours.

"He was so mean, he even hit one of the fliers. The poor little thing even started bleeding where he was hit. Luckily, your systems are enough like ours that some pressure on the wound stopped it."

"External neural net starting to boot! Turn off the coolers," Tiffany ordered her associate.

"Coolers cycling down. Down ten percent output. At twenty percent for half-powers, forty for full. Half coolers offline. Remainder at fifteen . . . ten . . . nine . . . seven . . . four . . . one percent, all coolers offline. Current reading; twenty degrees Fahrenheit below ambient and rising. Twelve below. Six below. At ambient. Four above.

"That's it, she's warming up on her own."

"Optical systems coming online," Tiffany informed. "Higher functions booting.

"She's at one hundred percent. She's free."

"Hey there sweetie," Ray cooed at the prone form as the blue eyes blazed to life. "It's okay, you're safe."

The titan's eyes began to quickly dart around the room in confusion. Gently, she gave a static-y call that cleared as her vocal systems completely rebooted.

"I'm sorry sweetie, she isn't here. The man who tried to keep you and the others took her away somewhere."

An anguished wail was her response as she levered herself up to a sitting position.

"Shh, I know, it's not fair. I know you want her. If there was anything that I could do to get her back, I'd do it. I can promise you this though; I will do whatever I can to find her and bring her back. Unfortunately, it may take time. Maybe, a long time, but we will find her."

A hopeful whirr, chitter, chirp was the response.

"I promise. I will find her and I will figure out a way to bring her back. But, it will take some time. Alright?"

A resolute chirr was the answer followed by a tilted head and another series of blips, chitters and whirrs.

Ray laughed gently as she turned to walk down the ladder. "You want to meet the others huh? Well, they're all sleeping right now. Your room is connected to theirs; so we'll show you to it and allow you to get some sleep as well.

"After the ordeal you've had over the last several months, I know you're going to need to sleep naturally to try and heal from whatever damages where done in the chryo-stasis procedure. In the meantime, we're going to leave you hooked up to these monitors to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong. Alright?"

Another resolute chirr was the response as she gently pushed the catwalk away from her and unsteadily stood up. She wobbled dangerously before her equilibrium caught on and she stood to her full height.

"Holy . . . she's even bigger 'n ole' NBE-one!" Jaime exclaimed in awe.

"Come on," Ray encouraged as she pushed the button to open the doors to the lab. They reluctantly complied with loud screeching noises.

"Yeesh! Remind me to have every oversized door in this place completely oiled," Ray said to her assistants.

"Won't be too hard; there's only two of 'em," Jaime pointed out as she took the lock off the mobile monitors' wheels.

"Just until the rest of the compound is finished," Ray replied.

"I still don't understand why you were in such an all-fired rush to get into your own facility," Tiffany mused aloud. "Normally, the procedure is to wait until the facility is prepared before you move; not, 'move into a temporary facility until the permanent one is ready'."

"Simmons," was Jaime's quick, yet simple, reply.

"Ah! Yeah, if the way you had to get here was any indication, I can only imagine what would have happened if he had more time to sabotage your project."

"Exactly," Ray answered.

"Okay! Here's your room, big girl," the younger, lead scientist exclaimed as she pushed a button to open another oversized door.

Even though it did squeal, it wasn't nearly as loud as the door to the lab.

The quartet looked around the huge open space as they took it all in; to one side, a pair of flatbed trailers were set up with a bunch of padding piled on them to act as a bed, beside the head of the "bed" was a large structure built into the corner with two huge drawers in it and a top to act as a night table. Opposite the bed, there was a wall of mirrors on the lower level made of two-way glass. The next level was the open area of the rest of the NBT's dormitory, a sturdy looking railing the only thing separating them. Above the dormitory, there was a 360 degree window that extended a half a story further above the rest of the building, allowing natural light to filter in through the windows during the day.

"So this is it," Ray addressed the giant NBT behind her. "What do you think?"

Cautiously, she entered the room and looked around, her eyes quickly landing on the open dormitory. Gently, she gave a quiet chitter, chirr toward the sprawled figures of the other NBT's. A couple sleepy sounding responses returned to her that seemed to relax any remaining tension from her frame. Satisfied that her new roommates were alright, she turned and went straight to the bed. She cautiously tested its strength as she eased herself onto it, sitting gingerly. When it did little more than groan at her weight, she relaxed and looked at the built in table in wonder.

Realizing she probably didn't understand how to operate drawers, Ralene approached and demonstrated how they were to be opened with the human sized desk sitting just inside the door.

"Hey sweetie! Like this," she told her.

Staring at the device the human was opening and closing, she studied its construction and then turned to examine the similar appearing construction beside her. Curiously, she tried to pull on the small ledges placed in the middle of each panel and gave a surprised squeal of delight when it opened with minimal effort. In fascination, she opened and closed both drawers for several minutes until she was satisfied that the action wasn't going to change.

"I bet you're gonna be cold for a while," Ray continued conversationally as she got bored with the drawers. "So we were able to construct a blanket for you," she finished as she pulled a large, wheeled cart into the room with blue material folded on it.

"You know, it isn't easy to come up with a blanket forty foot by forty foot. It took us over a month just to sew them all together.

"Here," the young scientist informed as she took a smaller blanket from the bottom of the cart. "This is how you use these," she said as she sat on the floor and covered herself with the smaller blanket. "Then, you pull it up over you like this when you lie down." Again, she demonstrated.

Watching curiously, the titan carefully unfolded the material that was on the top of the cart and draped it across her legs as she sat on her new bed. Sitting for a few minutes, she studied the material to try and figure out what it was supposed to do. When nothing happened, she pulled it up to her chin and lie down, making certain it still covered her legs. Waiting for a few minutes, she realized that she was starting to feel a warming sensation under her material. With a satisfied chirp, she snuggled further under the blanket and allowed it to warm her still chilled systems. Between the increased warmth and the gentle sounds of the radio still playing in the smaller section of the dormitory, it wasn't long until she fell into a rejuvenating sleep.

"Keep an eye on her," the head scientist ordered her two subordinates. "Split the shift between the two of you for tonight. I have a bunch of other things to do tonight, then we can make better arrangements for tomorrow.

"For now, I want to limit the amount of access the others have to the NBT's; at least until we figure out who they get along with.

"Any questions?"

"What are we going to do about fuel?" Jaime asked in concern as she stared at the peacefully sleeping giant before her. "I mean, it was expected they were going to be kept in chryo-stasis or have no movement whatsoever, so they're gonna burn through our fuel reserves faster than we can replace it."

"I know," Ray answered. "That's where I'm headed off to next.

"Any other questions?"

When they both shook their heads in the negative, the younger woman smiled and turned on her heel.

"I'll be in chemistry if you need anything, followed by the conference room. I'm hoping to be in bed before two."


	7. Chapter 6: Chemicals, Moonshine and Scar

**A/N:**_ So. . . more answers for you! Shorter chapter, but necessary to show how "organic" the kids actually are. I would also like to give my sincere thanks to Khalthar, who has agreed to beta this work as well. As always, let me know what I do wrong or right. LGTracy_

CHAPTER 6: CHEMICALS, MOONSHINE AND SCARS

"Hey Jason!" Ralene greeted the fifty-ish scientist as she entered the main laboratory.

"Mmm," was his distracted reply as he stared with laser like intensity through his microscope.

"Studying the fuel sample?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well, I was able to determine a few biological components in the samples when I looked at them. I've taken the liberty of asking a couple potential experts to join us and had Tiff get some groceries to use."

"Yes, I agree there is definitely some sort of pectin molecule. There also seems to be no traces of petroleum or other fossil fuel based products.

"That would be considered odd for a fuel sample; if it weren't for the origin of these samples, anyway."

"I agree. That's why I asked a couple of guys who have a family history of moonshining to help out."

"Moonshining?

"Of course! The alcoholic concentration would provide a flammable component to allow the pectin enriched fuel to be burned by the systems for use."

"That's what I was thinking."

"So, what makes you so sure that this particular formulation is what will be the most compatible with the NBT's requirements?"

"Those . . . other _scientists_," she said as she spat out the word in disgust, "took samples of everything they could get their hands on of NBE-one; including several fuel samples from various points in his digestive system. The sample I'm convinced that is most compatible with the NBT's systems was the one that had already been, essentially, digested into the most useful parts for NBE's function."

"You're humanizing them again," the elder scientist gently chastised.

"Well I can't help it, they act so human all on their own anyway . . . Besides, it's the easiest way to get my point across without having to explain the terminology."

"I can see your point."

"Hello? Doctor Clark?" a strange voice called into the lab.

"Back here!" the summoned scientist answered.

"Hey, ah, you wanted to see us?" asked a blonde soldier with ice-blue eyes.

"Ah yes! Steve Jorgensen is it?"

"Pronounced 'your-gen-sin,' but yes," he answered.

"Sorry, and you're Hunter McCoy?"

"Yes ma'am. So, why're we here?"

"First of all, this is Doctor Jason Eg," she introduced the other scientist.

"As you know," she continued after they had exchanged greetings, "Sector Seven does an in-depth investigation into their employees. Not even expungements exist as far as they are concerned. You both are here because you both have juvenile records for running moonshine. What I want to know is if either or, hopefully, both of you know how to actually make the moonshine you were convicted of running?"

"Why?" Jorgensen asked cautiously.

"Because we believe that the chemical composition of the alcohol," the elder scientist informed, "may work as a potential fuel source for the NBT's."

"Yeah, I know how to make potato mash for making vodka," Jorgensen offered hesitantly.

"I can make two-hundred proof white lightening with corn, but it can be deadly if made cheaply," McCoy informed with narrowed eyes.

"That's fine. If you are willing to make some for our use, there is a lab especially designed for your endeavors across the hall," Dr. Eg informed as he turned back to his microphone.

"Here, let me show you to your new space," Ray volunteered as she led them out of the lab.

"So, wait, we aren't gonna be here as guards?" McCoy asked in confusion.

"Nope, but as far as anyone else knows, you're specially assigned to guard the labs. That was the only way I could get Simmons to let you guys be assigned to my project."

"Is our illicit past the only reason you wanted us?" Jorgensen asked with some suspicion.

"No. That was just a bonus. The real reason I wanted you guys was because of these," she said as she gently touched the matching scars each man bore; Jorgensen's on the side of his neck, mostly hidden by his shirt collar and McCoy's on the inside of his left wrist. "The same mark that I have as well as several others on base."

"You?" McCoy asked in awe.

"Where? Jorgensen demanded.

"Right here," she informed as she tapped the spot over her heart. "Jimmy Hudson also has one on the top of his right wrist, Doctor Eg has one as does Jennifer Leslie, Tiffany Gerard and Jaime Preston, all of which can be seen when they move in certain ways or wear certain styles of clothing.

"That is another unofficial assignment; if you see anyone around with that same scar, try to send them to Jimmy with the suggestion they might enjoy the caretaker assignment."

"What's a 'caretaker assignment'?" McCoy asked in confusion.

"Simple, it brings you into a higher circle of trust.

"You were both marked like that by NBE zero, weren't you?" she asked when they both looked astonished.

"How did . . . ?" Jorgensen started to ask.

"Where you . . . ?" McCoy trailed off when he saw the scientist's confident nod.

"We all were marked by the cube; everyone who has a scar. When I was translating the writing on it, I theorized that particular figure meant 'caretaker,' or 'parent'."

"So, what does this 'caretaker' mark get us?" Jorgensen asked in suspicion.

"For the most part, it means that you are more likely to look at the NBT's in the same way I do; as the children of another species. To that end, you will be granted more access to them than those who are not marked, until they can prove they're on board with the idea. If you are both willing, you may even be allowed to mentor some of the ones who may show an affinity for something you excel at."

"They ain't comin' anywhere near this place!" McCoy decreed vehemently.

"Hell no! It's way too dangerous!" Jorgensen immediately agreed.

Ray laughed at the looks of horror on both men's faces at the idea of the NBT's being in danger. "Looks like the cube chose right," she had to say between chuckles.

The men looked at each other then at her in sudden understanding.

"Hey Ray!" Jason yelled in through the open door. "Jenn's on the phone. Something about the attendant."

"Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes. As soon as I'm done filling in our fuel mixers."

The sound of the door shutting with a loud clang signaled the elder scientist's exit.

"So, what else do we need to know?" Jorgensen asked as he came back to the purpose for their presence.

"Look around and see what all you're going to need to set up a still in here. Try to get producing as soon as possible; we only have about a two month supply of fuel for the NBT's and it's unlikely we can rely on Simmons to send us more when we run out.

"Talk to Jimmy in the morning with your list of supplies and he'll see to it you either get what you need, or get you a company credit card to get it yourself.

"So I can tell Jason when he can start working on the formulation, how long will it take you to set up and brew your first batch?"

"About a week," McCoy answered offhandedly as he began to walk around, stopping to check the ventilation system thoroughly.

"That's about right," Jorgensen agreed as he routed through the supplies and separated out what could be used from what couldn't.

"I think we should also use a used radiator as a condenser," McCoy suggested to his new colleague. "The lead might be necessary for their bodies."

"Yeah.

"Doctor Clark? Will it be alright if we set up several different stills? That way, we'll be able to experiment with a wider variety of recipes in a shorter amount of time."

"That sounds fine with me.

"I'm going to go find out what's going on with Jenn.

"Jason will probably be in the lab all night, he'll be your direct supervisor, so if you need anything, talk to him." With that, Ray left them to their work and stopped by Dr. Eg's lab to tell him about his new underlings. Not surprisingly, he was back to staring through his microscope and taking more notes, barely acknowledging the information with his standard hummed response.

Now that that was taken care of, Ray turned toward the security offices; what did Jenn find out about the attendant?


	8. Chapter 7: New Ally

**A/N:**_ I'm back with another chapter! So, I only have one more pre-written right now, so after that, it will probably take a while to update this story. This is also a little bit of a smaller chapter because it answers a few questions that I'm sure most everyone has. Namely, what the acronym stands for and how the kids get their "government designations." As usual, please let me know if there's anything I can do better or if anything else needs explained. Hope you enjoy! LGTracy_

CHAPTER 7: A NEW ALLY

The civilian attendant was just staring at her reflection in the mirror that she was sure hid her captors. She had started to tap her fingers in a random pattern hours ago. She had been denied a phone call and no one had answered a single one of her questions.

Jennifer was watching the woman from behind the two way glass when Ray found her.

"So, what's up?" she asked the older woman.

"She's marked," was Jenn's simple answer.

"_What!_" the scientist demanded in shock.

"Her left bicep. Saw it when she took off her jacket when we cranked up the heat to make her uncomfortable."

"Where did she get it? _How_ did she get it?"

"Haven't asked her yet; thought you might want to be with me when I did."

"Why did you want me with you?"

"You seem to have a better sense of those who are really marked versus those who are the victims of random coincidence."

"Uh huh," the younger woman agreed sarcastically.

The security advisor shrugged then flashed one of her rare, rueful smiles. "Would you believe that I wanted you here to see if she'd make a good candidate?"

"Maybe."

"Come on. Let's go talk to Missus Amber Lightwood about what she saw," Jenn motioned as she led the way into the hall, handing the other woman a manila file folder.

Skimming it, Ray followed her friend into the room where she quickly snapped the folder shut. She may not have the perfect eidetic memory Jimmy had, but she did have the unique ability to quickly skim through any document and automatically pick up key details.

"Missus Lightwood," Jenn greeted the seated woman, "I'm sure you remember my associate?" she asked as she made a vague motion toward the scientist.

Amber Lightwood looked up at the newcomer with tear-swollen eyes. "I'm so sorry I thought you were a kidnapper. Can I go home? Or at least, let my family know where I am?"

"Missus Lightwood, you have no family; your husband left you two months after you were married, you were an orphan and suffered a miscarriage a month after your husband left. Who do you need to call?" Ray asked bluntly.

The civilian rocked back as if she had been struck, a new wash of tears tracking down her cheeks. "H-how do you know all that?"

"We are the federal government. There's not much we don't know," the scientist answered frankly.

"My neighbor; she's elderly so I usually make dinner for the two of us. Plus, she takes care of my dog while I'm at work, so it is also a sort of 'thank you' for that as well."

"Missus Lightwood," Jenn directed as Ray discreetly walked around the guest to get a look at the mentioned scar. "We were wondering where you got that scar on your left bicep."

"What? My scar? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Maybe nothing, maybe everything," Ray informed enigmatically.

"My husband and I took a tour of Hoover dam on our honeymoon. I managed to get separated from our tour group and wandered around the dam until I ended up someplace I don't think I was supposed to be. Next thing I remember, I'm waking up in the first aid station with a bandage on my arm."

"Do you remember anything about the place you saw?" Jenn asked in alarm.

"Not much; just that it was dark and wet. I remember hearing voices calling back and forth and that was what I was heading for. I thought that they would be able to get me back to my tour group.

"Anyway, I rounded a corner in the tunnel and saw a bright flash before everything went black."

"Missus Lightwood, how would you like a job?" Ray blurted before Jenn could dissuade her.

"What?" Jenn and Mrs. Lightwood both asked in tandem.

"She was marked. If we get her up to speed, I think she will be a valuable member of the team."

"Doing what?" Jenn asked.

"Marked? What are you talking about?" Mrs. Lightwood asked in equal confusion.

"It says here that you were one credit shy of getting your master's degree in early childhood development and child psychology from BYU in nineteen seventy-three. You also still subscribe to several child development and psychology magazines, so I would assume that you are still up-to-date with the diagnoses and developments.

"The position I would hire you for would be as on-staff child therapist," Ray announced as she glanced pointedly at Jenn, "with the option of being promoted once you have completed your degree. The government will fund your education, if you are willing."

"Why me?" the older woman asked suspiciously.

"What I am going to tell you is above top secret and going to be hard to grasp, but I can assure you, I have plenty of proof of what I'm gonna say," Ray started as she sank into the chair opposite the woman.

"The Cliff Note's version of events is this; I'm a scientist who works for an above-top-secret federal government agency. This is the newest facility that I have been appointed the head of. What we are studying are non-biological, robotic life-forms that seem to have originated on another planet. This facility, and my project, are to prove that these beings are alive and sentient."

"What does that have to do with me?" the elder woman looked at the scientist as if she were crazy.

"The mark on your arm? I have one too," Ray said as she unfastened a couple of buttons at the top of her shirt to move the material aside. The vivid scar of a circle within another circle with four thorns projected out of it was placed over her heart, and displayed briefly before she quickly covered it back up.

"I got it from the device that animated the robotic organisms that we are studying," she informed as she quickly buttoned her shirt back up. "It is highly probable that you managed to find your way into the same area where the device was in Hoover dam. That is how you managed to get your scar; because the device determined that you would be more caring of its animations."

"That face in your car . . . it was one of these, robotic organisms?"

"Yes. He is."

"He seemed so frightened . . .

"That still doesn't answer the question about why an early-childhood development major would be of use here."

"He is only three days old. He and the others seem to act much like children at the moment. We do not know how long they will take to develop, if they even do, or even mature. That is one of the things we are studying about the NBT's."

"NBT?"

"Non-biological terrestrial. They were, after all, animated here, on this planet, so we cannot call them _extra_-terrestrial."

"Oh.

"Umm, can you direct me to the head doctor in this asylum? Does he even know that you have me?"

Ray laughed in honest amusement. "I'm sure that's what it might seem like, but if you'll come with us?" she motioned, giving Jenn their silent signal to come with her. "I can show you what I'm talking about."

Desperate to finally _move_, the older woman hurriedly followed the scientist out of the door and down the hallway. She chose not to comment on the presence of the security guard.

"By the way," the younger woman said over her shoulder, "I'm Ralene Clark; _Doctor_ Ralene Clark.

"The lady behind us is my head of security; Agent Jennifer Leslie.

"We're heading over to the dormitory where the NBT's are. This is their first day out of their crates, and they all fell asleep a couple hours ago. Please try to be quiet when we see them; I don't want to wake them, and I'm not quite sure what their audial sensitivities are yet.

"Here we are!" she said after walking for no less than half an hour.

"Rather a long hike, isn't it?" Amber Lightwood commented as she stopped to catch her breath.

"It's a safety precaution," Jenn stated helpfully, "by keeping the interview rooms so far away from the NBT's, it increases the chances of any potential hostile being captured long before they actually get here."

"Also keeps undesirable candidates from accidentally seeing the kids before you're ready," the older woman pointed out.

"That too," the scientist cheerfully replied as she opened a metal door.

When they walked into the room, they paused to allow their eyes to adjust to the lower light. The limited illumination showed two rows of government issued cots along either wall, with a grouping of six at the end. The only sound immediately identifiable where the soft strains of a classical piece vying with the gentle "whirr" of several fans in the back of the dormitory. After getting used to the loudest sounds, some of the quieter sounds came into focus; the whooshing of intakes from the sleeping figures, an occasional sound as one murmured in their sleep . . . and the frantic clicking of a specific figure located on the second bunk to the right as he tried to keep his sobs quiet.

Ignoring the man sitting in the chair beside the door, Ray immediately went to the sobbing being's cot and sat down. "Hey little one. What's wrong?"

His soft cry was his answer as he launched himself into her arms and clung to her in desperation.

"Easy, sweetie, it's alright. I'm right here," she tried to soothe as she gently rubbed at his back.

"Is he so clingy to everyone?" the older woman asked the scientist.

"He seems to be super shy around everyone except me. In fact, the only reason I brought him into your rest stop was because when I left him in my car before we first left for a few minutes, he wouldn't stop screaming until I came back and he could see me.

"I think he might have impressed on me or something."

"Most likely," the almost-child psychologist agreed.

"My suggestion would be; either keep your distance from him, and hope you can halt the attachment before it gets any stronger, or encourage it and accept that, as far as he is concerned, you're now his mother.

"I do have to warn you; if he is anything like a human child, the lack of emotional bonds at his age might do more harm than good."

"Well, it looks like I got a new partner," Ray answered ruefully.

"So, how do you tell them all apart?" Mrs. Lightwood asked as she looked at all of the tiny bodies surrounding her.

"Before they even leave the lab they were animated in," the scientist answered as she rocked the distressed being into a light doze, "they have these I.D. plates riveted to their plating under their left arm."

"I can assure you, it's very painful for them," Jenn advised with a physical grimace.

"They look like random numbers and letters," the eldest woman commented.

"Well, the first two digits are the order of animation out of total number of animations, so it would be like 'one of one' or 'one of three,' the first letter, or letters, is their frame type, the next eight numbers are their year and date of animation, the next two digits, a letter and number is the lab they were animated in and the last four numbers is the twenty-four hour military time." Ray explained in a hushed tone.

"Well, that's just not going to be very practical when they start running around. They are gonna need names," the former prisoner decided as she looked down on the precious bundle in the scientist's arms. "But, don't try to humanize them with human names . . . No, try giving them descriptive names. I think that would be better for them.

"And if that job offer is real, I'd like to accept."

Ray gave a grateful smile as she picked up the sleeping being and walked toward the door. Once outside, followed by Jenn and her new employee, she turned to them both to give them instructions; "Missus Lightwood, Agent Leslie will send you back to your apartment with a couple men to retrieve your dog and anything else of importance. You can inform your neighbor that you just received notice that you inherited an estate from an old friend. The stipulation is that you have to live there for one year and be moved into it before sunset tomorrow to be given the deed. After you have your necessities, they will take you back to your employer to quit and get your car.

"We will have a team retrieve the rest of your belongings first thing tomorrow. If there is anything that needs to remain, let the agents know and they will take care of it.

"You will stay in one of the guest rooms until your quarters are ready.

"Any questions?"

"Wow! You guys move quick, don't you?

"Uh, yeah, would it be possible to bring dinner to my neighbor? After all, she is expecting it."

"Jenn will take you to the kitchen before you leave. They should have something you can take.

"Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"Alright then, if you have any additional questions, we will answer them tomorrow. Now, if you will excuse me; I have one last meeting to attend before I can go to bed," the scientist informed as she nodded at the two other women and left.

"If you'll come with me, we'll get you on your way," Jenn said to the older woman as she motioned in front of her.

"Sure.

"So, what just happened?" Amber asked in confusion as the scientist's figure retreated.

Jenn's genuine laughter floated down the hall after her friend before she got too far to hear what was said.

Ray smiled as she went toward the meeting room. She felt good about this decision, she couldn't wait to tell the others about it.


	9. Chapter 8: The Meeting

**A/N:**_ Back again! So this is the last of my pre-written chapters of this story. Updates from now on may not be quite as regular as these have been. Another note; I was able to draft an example of the "Caretaker" symbol using MSPaint. It is now posted as this story's cover image. Additional notes at the end of the chapter. LGTracy_

CHAPTER 8: THE MEETING

Ralene entered the conference room closest to her temporary quarters. Instantly, all conversations stopped as the gathered watched their supervisor gently place a sleeping NBT on the couch in the corner and tuck him in carefully.

"Wha . . . what's he doing here?" an unidentified male voice asked in confusion.

"Sleeping," the scientist answered simply.

"Andrew Fogherty, right?" she confirmed as she turned around to address the person who had spoken.

"Yeah?

"But, why is he _here_?" he asked again.

"He's impressed on me. As far as he's concerned, I'm his mother. He seems to be quite averse to being out of my sight for too long. Since this is an experiment to try and support the natural development of the NBT's, I've decided to nurture this connection to see how he reacts."

"So, you've _adopted_ it?" a female voice asked from the back of the room.

"Heidi Sommers, right?" Ray directed to the new voice.

When the other woman nodded, she continued, "It's more like _he_ adopted _me_.

"Now, why did you address him as an 'it'?"

"I didn't know they had genders. Do they or are we merely assigning genders to them for our own preference?"

"They definitely have different build types and physical attributes that can be assigned gendered roles," another scientist informed from the opposite side of the table.

"Doctor Stephenson is right," Ray quickly agreed at her contemporary's remark. "However, you might also be correct, so it is most likely a combination of both.

"Is this everyone we can confirm?" she turned to Jimmy who sat at her left hand.

"So far, it's everyone that I know is marked that wasn't on duty."

"Alright, add Agent's Steven Jorgensen and Hunter McCoy to the list as well. And we will also be getting a new employee tonight who is marked; the attendant from the rest stop, Amber Lightwood."

"She's marked too?" Jimmy asked in surprise. "But how . . . ? _When_?"

"A tour of Hoover dam during which she got separated and found her way into the hangar. She woke up in the clinic with a bandage over the wound. It happened back in seventy-four."

"But, she wasn't even a _member_ of the sector," Heidi Sommers pointed out in disbelief.

"I'm aware of that," Ray agreed readily, "which is why we can now assume that not all marked members will be from the sector."

"So, what is this meeting about?" another male in a soldiers' uniform asked as he leaned tiredly against the back of his chair.

"Douglas Shane, right?" Ray confirmed his identity.

At his nod, she continued, "Well, Doug, this meeting was pretty much a meet-n-greet of those of us who have been marked by zero. For the most part, I wanted us to all get together to find out who all we can trust a little more readily with the welfare of the NBT's. Also, this is to give everyone a brief explanation of expectations:

"First of all, since we were all marked by the cube, with the same symbol, I am assuming that it has some form of intelligence and has chosen us for a common reason. I believe, as I already mentioned, that that reason was to protect and care for the NBT's that the device was forced to animate. So, what I expect from all of us is to treat ourselves as caretakers or custodians of the NBT's. I also realize that we are not going to be able to manage that on our own, so part of our duties will be to keep a look out for others like ourselves.

"Secondly, I'm not about to ask anyone to purposely go out and try to force one of the NBT's to bond with them. I am, however, going to ask that no one try to dissuade it from happening. Just assume that they will be doing the adopting.

"Also, it is highly probable that not all of us will remain at this facility indefinitely; for that reason, I would ask that as we are rotated out, we try and save as many of the NBT's from the other facilities we are assigned to. According to Jimmy, there are over eighty bases currently in operation with another thirty commissioned to open over the next five years."

"Wouldn't it be prudent for those who don't bond with any of the NBT's to volunteer for some of these new positions as they come open to try and get as many of them out as possible?" another woman asked from a seat beside Jimmy.

"Carrie Newark?" Ray asked the red haired woman.

"Yes, I'm a comm officer," she supplied.

"Yes, Carrie, that was going to be a request I was going to make."

"So, if we do get these guys out, where are we going to send them?" Dr. Stevenson pointed out. "I mean, they can't be brought here without endangering the operation."

"Not necessarily. It would raise a lot more questions if we have them sent to some arbitrary place for no apparent reason. However, you are right about them not staying here; that's why I recently bought property in the mountains back east. I am commissioning a compound to be built there to house the rescues. It will be finished within the next two years."

"What will the excuse be to get any of them here?"

"As disgusting and distasteful as it is; we will request 'spare parts' be sent here from the various facilities to maintain the kids under our care. As we lay the network, we will, hopefully, be able to smuggle the rescues along with them."

"I'll see about developing something that can keep their activity levels hidden for the trip," Dr. Stevenson volunteered.

The other scientist nodded with an appreciative smile.

"Are you going to be splitting your time between here and there?" Jimmy asked in curiosity.

"To an extent."

"Won't that interfere with this NBT's development?" Doug Shane pointed out.

"It is unlikely I will have to leave him before the first year. Hopefully, it will be enough time that he will trust another by then. If not, then I will have to figure out some other method of traveling between the two."

"Why don't you have a separate building built to house just the two of you when you're there?" a quiet, male voice asked from the far back corner of the room.

"You're Ron Howe, aren't you?" Ray asked the new speaker.

"Um, yes. Eye-tea specialist," he answered as he visibly squirmed at all of the attention.

"That's a pretty good idea. It would probably be smart to set things up like this facility is; temporary offices and quarters that can also act as a front and focal point for external communications," Ray mused aloud.

"Wait, this place is just temporary?" Heidi Sommers asked in disbelief.

"Yes. The real facility will be a compound set-up scaled to accommodate beings of Twelve-Tango's and NBE-one's size.

"Ideally, I would love to have adult NBE's here to help the NBT's obtain the knowledge of their native society. Until or unless that happens, and I'm betting that Simmons will make certain that it doesn't, they are going to remain ignorant of the species they originate from."

"Speaking of the compound," Jimmy interrupted, "the contractor has the foundation complete, but is having a hard time believing the scale we require."

"Ugh! I'll meet with him tomorrow afternoon.

"You've been using the story about the military aircraft research facility?" she confirmed.

"Yes, but I don't think he believes me."

"Then, we'll just have to make him aware that his knowledge of what will be going on in the facility is not his concern. Also, see if you can find other contractors that we can award a government contract to if he proves to be uncooperative."

"I'll do that," the base administrator readily agreed as he made a note in his notebook.

"Now," Ray turned back to the eight others in the room, "I know we are all tired and it's already been a long day, so let me just try to get through this so we can all go to bed or get our day started, or whatever.

"One, the NBT's are to be considered children, orphans if you prefer, and we should all be prepared for the possibility that any of us may be adopted by them at any given time.

"Two, not all of us will be remaining in this facility for the duration of our careers. Those of you who do not bond with the NBT's, I would appreciate it if you volunteered to transfer to other facilities where they are being kept. We will establish protocols to maintain contact and arrange the transfer of as many NBT's as possible.

"Three, our incoming member, Amber Lightwood, brought up a good point; it will get very confusing if we just refer to the NBT's as their alpha-numeric designations. We should seriously consider giving them names. However, we don't want to humanize them too much, so she suggested we try and call them by something more descriptive, like phrases."

"Anything come to mind for any of the ones you've already met?" Dr. Stephenson asked in curiosity.

"The one who impressed on me is Rhythm, the one with the eye coverings who rode with us seems like an Oddjob*, the wing frame who also rode with us is Windchaser, Twelve-Tango is Nova, the wing frame who Simmons' guard smacked is Flashstrike and the other wing frame who tried to help him is Nightingale. The standard frame who tried to help Flashstrike is Torquewrench."

"Alright then," Jimmy agreed as he made the notes in his notebook, "we have seven names down, thirteen to go. Are you going to tell them their names as you come up with them or wait until they all have names?"

"I'll tell them their names as I come up with them. Besides, it might be a case of once I'm awake and talk to them all, inspiration will strike.

"Now, on to the rest of the meeting; four, we are going to have to establish some sort of curriculum for the kids. Part of this facility's mission is to determine if they can be trained; getting them into some sort of organized, structured class work will help to test that possibility. I'm also rather curious as to what you all think should be included in the classes.

"And finally, five; anyone else think it might be a good idea to allow the NBT's to interact with human kids?"

"WHAT!?" was the unanimous reply as everyone looked at her in shock.

"Seriously, I'd like to see how the NBT's and the children would compare side-by-side. I'm not talking about bringing in newborns or infants, but rather older kids that can defend themselves to some degree if any of the NBT's show violent impulses."

"Perhaps it would be a better idea to observe how the NBT's interact with each other before we introduce far more fragile, _human_ children," Dr. Stephenson gently suggested.

"Of course! I wasn't talking about opening up a daycare tomorrow or anything. I know we will have to wait before anything that extreme. It was just a thought that popped into my head.

"And, in that vein, I have nothing else. Anyone else have anything?"

"We should seriously think about getting them on some sort of schedule as soon as possible," Carrie Newark suggested. "It will be helpful for them, if they are like human children, to have a structured environment."

"Alright. Sounds good. Anyone else or would we all like to return to our respective quarters for the night?"

"I'm all for bed!" Doug Shane hastily agreed as he made to get up.

"Second!" Ron Howe agreed as he rubbed at his eyes beneath his glasses.

"Okay then; we'll set up regular meetings every Sunday at nine pea-em. Meeting is adjourned until next Sunday, and make sure you let either Jimmy or myself know if you run across any others who are marked."

Ray tiredly got up and moved to the couch where the newly named Rhythm was still sleeping soundly.

"You want me to get him?" Jimmy asked quietly as he followed her to the couch.

"Thanks, but I got 'im.

"Think I'm gonna take him to my quarters, grab a shower and then collapse into bed," she said as she gently scooped up the sleeping being and held him securely against her shoulder.

"Alright. Guess I'll see you tomorrow.

"Oh! Before I forget; where do you want us to put all of those things we got for the NBT's?"

"Huh? Oh! Right, put them in the play room opposite the dormitory. We can figure out what to do with it tomorrow.

"I'm off to bed now. G'night."

"'Night, Ray, Rhythm."

"_*" = Oddjob is the villain of a James Bond 007 movie/book. That character is the property of the James Bond 007 franchise. No infringement is implied nor intended. No financial gain has been received._

_**A/N2:**__ Above is the disclaimer for the name "Oddjob." I just decided to use it as the name for one of my sparklings because it just seemed to fit. I can promise that he isn't going to be a Shockwave wannabe. If you have any other questions, comments, corrections or suggestions, please leave a review. I can't give you a better work if I don't realize what I'm doing wrong or less-than ideally. LGTracy_

_23 W19850908E20009 Gender: F Designation: Windchaser_

_23 W19850909A41242 Gender: M Designation: Flashstrike_

_33 W19850909A41242 Gender: F Designation: Nightingale_

_12 T19851005H01111 Gender: F Designation: Nova_

_11 S19851105D60833 Gender: M Designation: Oddjob_

_11 S19851108A32159 Gender: M Designation: Rhythm_


	10. Chapter 9: Day One - Morning

_**A/N:**__ Yes, I still live. No, this story has not been abandoned. Unfortunately, rl is not being very nice to me at the moment, so the updates will be few and far between until the situation becomes more tenable. In that vein, there have been a few reviewers that have stated they were inspired by this story along with fealion's "Incarnation of Cybertron," (and Sinead Rivka's "Things We Don't Tell Humans;") for that reason, I have decided to grant permission to those who have already expressed an interest in writing a story based on The Caretakers: Controls. Additionally, there is another invitation now opened to all other readers – Are you a Caretaker? As you remember, part of Ray's plan is to spread the caretakers to as many other facilities as possible for the purpose of saving as many of these "NBT's" as they can. So long as you utilize the same language already being established, I'm asking for volunteers to add their own OC's to the storyline in their own facilities. Feel free to PM me for "inside scoops," on how they are going to sneak them out._

_Until next time, whenever that may be, thanks for reading!_

_LGTracy_

CHAPTER 9: DAY 1 (MORNING)

Bright blue optics slowly booted up to cast a pale glow across the room. For a few moments, the figure lay perfectly still as his remaining systems finished coming sluggishly online. Drowsily, he looked around.

The first thing he noticed was the warm body lying snugly beside him. A curious glance up to where the head was and he saw that it was his Carrier. Purring, he laid his head back down on her chest and listened to her odd sounding spark beat, memorizing the unique sound. Instinctively, he reached out with his feelings and felt a fuzzy, warm throb of emotion back.

'_Safe_,' he thought.

The little being snuggled further against his carrier and waited for her to open her eyes. As he waited, he looked around at the new room.

Boxes. That's what carrier said they were.

Boxes everywhere. Boxes had fun inside. The other one like him from the moving box got all sorts of fun things. The one with the extra stuff on its back got to pick their own fun thing. He got soft things. He liked the soft things, but he wanted a fun thing too. Carrier gave fun things out of the boxes, so he would help her get the fun things out.

Making up his processor, he crawled out of the warm place with his carrier and dropped to the floor. For a moment, he stood there and looked around. Now, which box would he start with?

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

_SLAM! _

_ Bang! Bang! Bang! BANG! _ A loud, desperate wail accompanying the frantic sounds and Ralene Clark was awake with a jolt; heart pounding rapidly in her chest in utter terror.

Confused, she looked around for the source of the sound before focusing on the closed bathroom door.

"Rhythm!" she called in fear as she vaulted out of bed and rushed to the terrified NBT.

Easily, she opened the door to the bathroom and was bowled over when the still shrieking being launched himself into her arms.

"Oof!" she grunted as she fell over backward from the unexpected weight.

"Easy baby, easy," she tried to sooth the distraught being.

He keened and clicked rapidly as softly glowing blue liquid tracked down his cheeks.

"It's alright. You're okay. It's fine now. Shh, you're safe now. I'm here, you're safe. Shh."

_Bang, bang, BANG!_

"Ray? You alright in there?" Jimmy's voice sounded from the door.

Rhythm whimpered and clung tighter to the scientist's night shirt.

"Let's go see what Jimmy wants, okay?" she directed to the small frame in her arms.

"Hold on! Let me get to the door," she called as she maneuvered into a fluffy bath robe while still holding the slowly calming figure in her arms.

Blindly, she tripped her way to the room door.

"_Sonofabiscuiteater_!" she chirped when she slammed her foot into something solid.

Determinedly, she hopped her way to the door as she tried to shake the sting out of her baby toe.

"Ray?! You alright?" Jimmy called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah!" she called back as she fumbled with the locking mechanism.

"Ray? What happened? We heard the little guy screaming and loud bangs," he rambled as he looked at her through concerned, bleary eyes.

"We're fine," she assured, squinting against the sudden brightness of the hall lights.

"He woke up early and managed to wander into the bathroom," she added. "He must've accidentally shut the door after himself and didn't know how to open it."

"Scared himself huh?"

Jimmy gently rubbed the dull gray head when the object of the discussion curiously poked his head out of the neck of the scientist's robe.

"Looks like it.

"OW!"

"What?"

"Think I might have broken my baby toe when I kicked something. . ."

"Here," he said as he guided her back into her room and turned on the lights, "let me take a look . . .

"What the hell happened in here?" he wondered aloud as he looked around at the complete mess.

"I'm guessing _he_," she jiggled the now calmed being, "decided to explore.

"So _that's_ what I kicked," she muttered when she saw medical books piled up, haphazardly, in the middle of the floor.

Looking around, they saw that every box had been opened and discarded randomly wherever the contents had been emptied.

"Did you do this?" she asked the being in a stern voice.

"Chirr," he replied curiously.

"Don't do this again, alright?" she ordered.

"Chirp," was the tired response.

"I'd say that it's no use; I don't think he understands what he did was dangerous," Jimmy offered thoughtfully as he gingerly examined the injured toe.

"Wow! It's already turning purple.

"I'm thinking you probably did break it."

"YOWCH!" the exhausted scientist reacted when her toe was gently touched, flinching back from the pain.

"Grrrr!" the small being swiped at the offending hand defensively when he realized the woman was being hurt.

"Stop that, Rhythm" Ray gently scolded.

"Chirp? Chirr click beep?"

"_You_ are 'Rhythm,' and Jimmy is trying to see if my toe is hurt. And just how bad.

"He didn't mean to hurt me."

A melodious whistle was her response as the newly named Rhythm cocked his head curiously to the side.

"Yes, 'Rhythm' is your name.

"Do you like it?"

A thoughtful pause accompanied by some quiet chitterring preceded a shrill whistle and tight hug in response.

"Oof! I'm guessing that's a 'yes,'" the tired scientist said with a laugh as she hugged the small being back.

The sudden popping sound from Ray's injured foot seemed to be unusually loud in the relative quiet of the room.

Hissing as she flinched her foot back from Jimmy's firm hold, the young woman returned her attention back to the other human.

"Ow," she deadpanned. "That _hurt_."

"Sorry," he offered sheepishly. "But, maybe your toe isn't quite as injured as we initially thought?"

She examined the digit critically as she distractedly stroked the NBT's small head. "I think you might be right. Given that it no longer hurts as bad and it is in a much more natural position; it was probably just dislocated. The only real treatment for a dislocated lower metatarsal is to re-articulate it into the proper position and wrap it tightly to the one beside it. Since it has already been re-articulated, it just needs to be wrapped. I can take care of that myself."

"You sure?" Jimmy asked on a poorly suppressed yawn.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Besides, Rhythm is already back asleep, I'm tired and it sounds like you are too. Why don't you go on back to your room and try to get _some_ sleep before we have to face the day?"

"That sounds like a great idea.

"I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. Good night."

Jimmy left quickly and closed the door behind him. Ray hobbled painfully after him to lock the door and turn out the lights. Sighing in sudden, instant exhaustion, she returned to the bed and dropped her robe as she went. She was asleep before she even pulled the covers over herself; her tight hold on the small being her only source of warmth. As she slept, a faint, muted blue glow encompassed the damaged section of her foot from within. By the time she would awaken five hours later, the only evidence of any injury would be a quickly fading bruise and slight tenderness.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

The sound of curious clicking-churr-whistle-purrs led the scientist and an excited Rhythm down the hall to the designated "play room." As they entered the open doors, Ralene stopped just inside at the cluster of curious NBT's that stood, uncertainly, just inside the room.

"Hey, Heather," she greeted the junior scientist with a confused frown.

"The NBT's have just been standing here for the last ten minutes," the young scientist confirmed with her own look of consternation.

"Has anyone _showed_ them how to play with anything?"

"Uhhh . . ." was the confounded reply.

Ray sighed in resignation.

"Hey kiddo's!" she started as she moved with determination into the center of the room. "Let's see what we got here. Who wants to help me open this stuff?"

As she expected, Rhythm was the first to volunteer. Quickly, he was at her side, curiously watching as she reached into one of the paper bags sitting on the floor. He chittered in excitement as the smaller box was brought into view.

"So, what is this? Why, it's a box of crayons! Let's see if we have anything to color with them."

"Why is she sounding so . . . enthusiastic?" Jimmy wondered aloud to the scientist at the door. He had just come by when he heard the little ones jabbering inside the room.

"My guess is to try and get them engaged," Heather answered as she quickly scribbled notes onto her clipboard.

"Aww! Lookit that! Coloring books!" Ray emphasized as she spread them out on the floor around her. She grabbed one at random and opened it and the box of crayons. "See guys? This is what they're for," she demonstrated as she started coloring a dinosaur orange. "And you can make them any color you want," she continued, grabbing a green crayon to color the grass.

"Here, little one. Why don't you finish coloring this for me?" she then directed to a smaller NBT who seemed absolutely fascinated by the multitude of colors in the box.

Looking back at Rhythm, she found him half inside a bag while boxes were being unceremoniously pulled out and heaped near his feet.

"So, what did you find there Rhythm?" she asked with a soft smile.

He pulled out of the bag and looked around at all of the small boxes while adding another one carefully to the precariously leaning pile.

"Chirp?" he directed as he handed another small box directly to her.

"Lincoln Logs!" she exclaimed in true interest. "And Erector Sets and Leggos.

"I bet I know _who_ is going to love these!

"Hey, Oddjob?" she directed to the small NBT that she gave her boom box to.

"Cheep?" he squeaked with a curious tilt of his head. "Churr-whistle-click?"

"Oddjob? It's what we're going to call you, at least, until you or an adult of your kind tells us different.

"Do you like it?"

He thought about it for a few minutes, a few clicking murmurs before he smiled brightly and launched himself at her and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Bleep!"

"Ooff! Yeah, okay. You have a name. Hopefully, everyone of you will get a name sooner or later."

Suddenly, Ray was mobbed by eager NBT's who wanted to know what they would be called. She laughed in honest amusement as she hugged each one in turn and promised each one that they would all get names once she got to know them better.

"Churr-cheep? Cheep-whistle-click-schtick-ssss? Chickle-chirp-sshhh-bleep-click-click," one of the smaller beings started saying to the newly dubbed "Oddjob."

"Click," he started to answer, only for the little feminine being to cut him off with another string of vocalizations.

"Hey Ray! Looks like this one's a little chatterbox," Jimmy pointed out with a chuckle.

"Hmm?" she asked distractedly as she followed his indicating finger.

Laughing after hearing the nearly non-stop chatter, she couldn't help but agree.

"You're rignt.

"Hey little lady," she directed to the child directly. "Mr. Hudson here mightof just named you. So what do you think? Do you want to be called 'Chatterbox'?"

She cocked her head in curiosity as she considered. Suddenly, she let out a mechanical-sounding laugh and launched herself at the young scientist.

"You're welcome little Chatterbox, but it was Mr. Hudson that named you."

Chatterbox gave one more hug to the scientist before she was launching herself at Jimmy to express her appreciation; jabbering incessantly as he laughed.

"Okay, so that's three that now know their names, at least," Heather stated as she tried to unobtrusively write down their alpha-numeric designations and line them up with their new names.

"Where's the little girl that drove up with Rhythm, Oddjob and me?" Ray asked as she started looking around the room.

It didn't take her long to find the being in question when she noticed that all of the wing frames were gathered near the window on the other side of the room.

Gently, she touched the shoulder strut of the small flight frame to catch her attention. She was pleased to see the look of curious happiness flash in the innocent golden eyes at her approach.

"Hey there, sweetie. I _was_ able to think up a few names last night before I went to bed. Yours was one of them.

"How do you like the name Windchaser?"

The golden eyes seemed to widen in awe before a smile split across the face of the newly dubbed "Windchaser."

"Bleep!" was the metallic response before she threw her arms around the scientist's waist.

Chuckling, Ray returned her hug. "I guess you like it, huh?"

Eagerly, the rest of the flight frames mobbed their fellow and the human scientist. _Windchaser_ got _her_ name, so _when_ would she get them _theirs_?

"Okay, _okay_!" the woman replied with another laugh. "I don't know all of you well enough yet to have a name for _all_ of you, but I do have a couple of names in mind for you two," she told them as she located the specific NBT's.

"You, my little healer, will be Nightingale, and you, my bold one, can be Flashstrike. So, what do you think?"

The two looked at each other in astonishment before wrapping their arms around her, vocalizing happily.

"Okay guys.

"Flashstrike? I need to take a look at your head, make sure it healed alright."

Instantly, Nightingale and the other being from the previous evening were surrounding her as they looked at the wound critically.

"Mmmm, well. It looks like it's completely sealed and already starting to fade, although there's a slight discoloration around the area that almost looks like a bruise.

"We'll keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't give you any problems.

"And you, my little man," she said as she turned to the second healer. "How would you like the name, 'Torquewrench'?"

"Cheep?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, Torquewrench. Is that something you would like to be called? If not, just let me know and we'll try to figure out something else."

"Bleep!" he responded with a hearty hug around the scientist's hips.

"Guess that means he likes it," Heather said with a gentle smile as she wrote it in her notes.

"So, do you have any other ideas for nicknames for any of them?" she continued as she glanced up from her clipboard.

"Yeah, the titan frame is going to be Nova . . . at least, if she likes it."

Heather nodded and noted the name.

"So, let's get back to exploring these bags!" the head scientist enthused as she directed the group back to the original task.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

Throughout the morning, Nova was able to maneuver her way into the play room and proceeded to take up almost half the space when she sat down to play with the rest of the NBT's. It was a cause for great concern among the staff when she also plucked Ralene from her place on the floor and _nuzzled_ her in response to being informed of the new name. It seemed the only one _not_ remotely concerned about the scientist's safety was the scientist herself.

The rest of the morning also saw the naming of the only amphibious frame, dubbed, "Ebbtide," two female standard frames of "Phantom," who was fond of hiding from the staff, and "Shadow," who was following her _everywhere_, and the only rotor frame was named "Whirlwind," after he proceeded to make the rounds of every other NBT in rapid succession, play for a minute, then get drawn away with a _new _group with a new toy to play with.

Finally, around 11 A.M., the group was given their mid-morning fuel and herded back into the dormitory with their new treasures. It was as they began to crawl back into their beds that the flight frames started to engage in rather odd behavior:

First, they drug every mattress off of the cots they had been given and piled them all in a corner. Then, they tipped the cots onto their sides and drug them into a messy, nest-like structure. Finally, they adjusted their fans so that the air was constantly moving over their wings as they slipped into their nest and powered down into sleep.

_**A/N2:**__ Okay, so I don't like the way this one ended at all. It just refused to end! I finally just had enough of it that I decided to wrap it up whether it wanted to be done or not. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Maybe I'll find the plot bunny that this story was spawned by and catch the little bugger before the next chapter . . . which will probably take a while to get out. Just an FYI. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! :D LGTracy_


	11. Status Update

Status Update!

NOT a Chapter

Hey all! Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you or the stories. It's just that I'm currently working 2 jobs right now and getting super busy with them.

PLUS! I'm working on several new stories that might very well tie all of my universes together. Not to mention a couple original works.

So, just wanted to let you know, you aren't forgotten.

Thank you for your continued support!


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